Tangled Fate
by Grounders10
Summary: When a group of Sidereal's attempt a ritual to change the world, things go rather sideways when the ritual fails catastrophically. In the process Ranma, Ryouga and most of their company of friends and rivals find themselves scattered across creation. With power beyond human limits can they change a broken world? [Exalted/Ranma]
1. Chapter 1

'What a wonderful sight.' Mused Ever-Comforting Blossom as she gazed out over the mountain range. Even in the darkness of the last "night" of calibration it was possible to see for dozens of miles from her vantage point atop the highest mountain in the Metagalapan range. In fact if she squinted a bit she just barely make out the lights on the edge of the territory of Greyfalls. She smiled softly at that. While it had been years since she last stepped foot on the Blessed Isle, even the sight of this last, distant, bastion of civilization was enough to bring back memories of her childhood.

She looked away from the horizon and down towards her feet. Less than a foot from her sandal clad toes a pit of darkness stretched out before her, the edge of the cliff. It was interesting in a way, the way that the light of towns so far away could be seen, yet the valley below was completely obscured in darkness. She scooped some snow in one bare hand and let it pour out over the abyss. For the few feet she could see it the snow swirled in mesmerizing patterns born of the wind.

The crunch of boots on snow drew her from her thoughts. "It's time." A cultured male voice said.

Ever turned around, her cloak of blue silk billowing as the action caused to it catch a breeze. The man she saw stood with clothes in the decadent yet sombre purple robes of a chosen of Saturn. His hair was short and well-trimmed, as was his beard, a small black goatee. Illuminating him was a lantern made from blue jade that mounted a single red gem inside. The red glow cast his face in blood and shadows. Despite this Ever allowed a smile to show as she stepped away from the cliff. "Is it really? I was beginning to think Zaerius was going to call it off." She said blithely.

The man snorted. "As if he would. An opportunity like this won't come for another three hundred years. I don't know about you, but there are things I'd much rather be doing in three hundred years." He quipped before turning and starting the short walk to the top of the mountain.

Ever fell in step, showing no signs that the cold bothering the exposed toes of her feet. In moments they were up and on top of the summit of the tallest mountain in a thousand miles. As they crested the edge of the summit Ever took in the three already there. Two appeared roughly her age. The first was a man dressed in a red robe with short red hair. The second was a woman wearing a rather revealing yellow dress. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. The third person on the summit was an old man dressed in green with long white hair that ran far down his back. Most sidereals rarely looked older than twenty, unless they exalted later in life. Most sidereals weren't old enough to have participate in the usurpation, nor were they old enough to have endured the millennia preceding it. Zaerius was both. An ancient master of martial arts with the might and cunning to back it up, he still managed to smile when Ever and her companion entered his line of sight.

"There you are. I see it didn't take long to find her." He said jovially. "Quickly Ever, Rhys, please take your positions in the circle. Time is running short."

Ever looked around and spotted the bands of starmetal that lay in concentric circles across the ground. The lights from the enchanted crystals reflected off the arcane metal, sending a rainbow of the colours of the five maidens across the area. The gleam of jade could also be seen mixed amongst the starmetal, spelling out prayers and poems in celestial script. On the edge of the hoops of metal the five symbols of the maiden were laid out at equal distances around the array. Ever stepped forward and onto the symbol of Venus. The other four stepped forward onto the symbols of their respective patrons.

"Time?" The man in red asked.

"Five minutes until we begin." Zaerius replied. "Everyone remember their part?"

"It's hardly possible to forget." Ever replied to echoes of agreement from the rest.

Zaerius merely nodded as though their answer was a given. "Of course, of course. Still had to be sure." He pulled out a chain of glowing red pearls and wrapped them about his left hand. He pulled out an ornate pocket watch with far more hands than normal and checked the time. "Remember Thousand Careful Steps will lead at the beginning. From there we go counter-clockwise until we reach Ever-Comforting Blossom." He clicked the watch shut and slid it into his robes before raising both hands. Ever and the others mimicked him. "In ten…Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five…"

Ever let the numbers flow over her as she drew on her essence, her caste mark flaring to life on her forehead. As Zaerius struck one she and the others knelt and pressed both hands to the array of metal pushed into the ground. Motes of light wafted off of her and the others as Thousand Careful Steps, the yellow clad Chosen of the Maiden of Journeys, began to chant in a language few outside of Yu-Shan had ever heard. Ever allowed herself a small smile as the energies of the ritual built up. In but a few moments they would change everything, forever.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter One: Strands of Broken Fate

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

July in Nerima is hot. Not Saharan desert hot, or even California hot, but warm enough that most people prefer to spend their time somewhere with air conditioning, or failing that at the public pool or beach. For Ranma, his Fiancee Akane and both her sisters, this was not how they were spending the far too warm July day.

Instead the four of them, technically five if you included Akane's pet pig P-chan (in reality the cursed form of a local martial artist and friend) in the count, were spending the fifteenth of July around the dinner table with Ranma's mother Nodoka. The table was covered in nearly a dozen large, and in some cases old, books.

Ranma tried to keep a bored yawn off his face as Nodoka rambled into the third straight hour of genealogy. Or more accurately their families genealogy. While it was interesting to know that neither family had so much as spoken to each other in their recorded history before their father's met when apprenticing under Happosai, there was only so much one person could take of the rather dry and boring subject, or at least as dry and boring as his mother managed to make it seem, before they'd go crazy.

As it was Nabiki, the middle girl of the sisters, had already tried to nod off to sleep three times only to be woken up by a reprimand from Nodoka. Kasumi had fared better, but even He had noticed that the eldest Tendo's smile had been getting more and more strained. Perhaps it was uncharitable but Ranma got a little bit of amusement from that fact, seeing as the brown haired girl had been all for this little misadventure the night before.

Even Ryouga, the aforementioned P-chan, had given up on trying to stay awake and was snoozing at the end of the table where Akane was sitting. In fact the bluenette was the only one who was still showing a rapt attention to what his mother was saying. In fact….

"Hmm…?" Ranma said sleepily as Akane said something he missed through the haze of boredom and wandering thoughts. Judging by the annoyed look on Akane's face and the simultaneous disappointed look on his Mother's face it wasn't the right thing to do.

"You're not listening are you?" Akane prodded.

"I-uhhh… umm…" Ranma eloquently responded. "Yes I am?" He offered tentatively.

"Then perhaps you can repeat what I just said about….?" His mother offered, the disappointed look on her face not wavering slightly. "A man should be able to focus on matters of importance despite personal distaste or the weather."

Kasumi coughed into her fist lightly, cutting into the developing argument before it had a chance to gain steam. "Even the best of us can get tired after a while Auntie, and we have been going for three hours. It's just coming up to noon if fact. Perhaps I should go and get lunch ready?" She offered, rising from the table.

Nodoka smiled slightly. "Of course Kasumi, an excellent idea. I'll come with you." She said, also rising. Kasumi's gentle smile became just a touch more strained as she led the elder woman out of the room.

Mentally Ranma sent a small prayer of thanks, and an apology for feeling smug a few minutes earlier. Still better her than him. Off to the side there was a thunk and a muttered "ow" as Nabiki once again lost the fight with sleep and accidentally smacked her head onto the table.

"You really should listen to Auntie better Ranma." Akane scolded, drawing a sigh as the boy realized his Fiancee wasn't going to let the matter go.

"Its boring. It's hot and humid, and I'd rather be doing anything than this." Ranma complained as he eyed Nabiki who was resolutely trying to sleep despite the fact she'd smacked her head on the table. The urge to lay his head down and join her was quietly quashed by his self preservation instinct. Akane was annoyed enough, no need to add more fire.

"It's not that bad." Akane said. Ranma gave her a blank-eyed exaggerated once over. Her light sundress was damp from sweat and clinging to her curves in places. She blushed and glared at him. "It's not." She protested.

"Suuuuuure it's not. Trust a tomboy like you to deny it just cause." He said with a snort. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly more.

"I'm not the one insulting my mother by being a day-dreaming pervert!" She snapped leaning forward.

Before Ranma could respond with another insult, as was the norm between them, Nabiki piped up. "Would you keep it down you two." She said, "I'm trying to sleep here and listening to you two lovebirds go at it again isn't helping."

"We're not-"

"'Biki!"

"Get a room." Nabiki snapped before standing up with a yawn and stumbling out of the room. "I'm going to take a nap. Later~" As she stumbled off her foot knocked a pillow into the middle of the room.

Ranma and Akane watched her go for a moment before they shared a glance, blushed, and immediately proceeded to ignore the other's presence. The wait until Kasumi and Nodoka was awkward, but nothing they had not dealt with before. Idly Ranma mused on what the familiarity with this awkward silence said about their relationship. It probably wasn't anything good.

Anything deeper than that shallow pronouncement failed to emerge before Nodoka emerge from the kitchen, an expression of bemusement on her face as she carried a tray of drinks over. "Kasumi is quite protective of her kitchen at-" Her foot found the displaced pillow and turned, sending her to the ground and the drinks into the air.

One glass of what Ranma suspected was juice flipped in mid-air and poured its contents on him as he dived for his mother. Now female and just as red-haired as her mother Ranma managed to catch Nodoka before she hit the ground. Behind her there was a cry of shock from P-chan as what was left came down around the pig, soaking it completely. Cradling her mother in one arm she brushed a damp and sticky lock of hair out of her eyes with a sigh. "You okay mum?" She asked.

Her mother didn't respond immediately, instead she just stared up at Ranma's face for a few seconds, the same mild discomfort she always seemed to have around Ranma's cursed form was plainly visible on her face. After a moment she blinked and her expression melted into mild relief, her real feelings once again buried beneath a mask that Ranma had only learned to recognize after seeing it daily over the last few months.

"I'm fine Ranma, though my ankle hurts a bit." She confessed. Ranma glanced down at her ankles and frowned. She reached out and tapped the left one, eliciting a small gasp from her mother.

"I think you turned it." She said as she settled her mother down onto the pillows normally reserved for sitting. She glanced up at Akane, who was fussing over P-chan and trying to dry the pig off with napkins. "You okay Akane?" She asked.

Her fiancee glanced up for just a second before going back to dabbing juice out of the fur of the increasingly annoyed piglet. "I'm fine. The table and P-chan are soaked through." She said frantically.

Kasumi poked her head out of the kitchen and her eyes widened at the sight of the room. "Is everyone okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Ranma said.

"P-chan is soaked." Akane said.

"But mum's sprained her left ankle." Ranma continued.

"Oh dear." The eldest tendo daughter sighed as she stepped out of the kitchen.

"I'm fine Kasumi. Really, no need to walk away from the food." Nodoka protested.

Kasumi hmmed non-commitedly as she knelt next to the older woman. She reached out and tapped the left ankle, getting another gasp from Nodoka. "Fine, so you are. More so than Ranma I assume?" The sardonic lilt to her voice caught everyone off guard before Nodoka chuckled and nodded.

"I'll just need to keep off my feet for the next few days, won't I?" The older redhead said before she looked over at her son turned daughter. "While Kasumi sees to me why don't you get changed." Everyone listening knew the subtext to that sentence. Rather than get a change of clothing, she meant get changed back to my son rather than my daughter.

"Well with all this heat a shower wouldn't be too bad right now." Ranma said stretching, an act that strained several of the ties on her shirt nearly to the breaking point. A small part of her noted the sound of straining fabric with annoyance, while another smaller part gleefully noted that yes she was in fact still growing, and still leading Akane in that area.

Kasumi glanced towards her sister. The piglet was struggling against the younger sister's grip as she continued to try and pat out any spot of juice. "Perhaps you should take P-chan with you? Some hot warm might help get the juice out." She offered. The pig went still and craned its neck around to send Ranma a hopeful look.

Akane set the damp cloth on the table and sighed. "Could you Ranma? This isn't working very well." She said.

Ranma stared into the eyes of the piglet she knew was actually her rival in martial arts for a moment before sighing. "Sure." She held out her arms and leaned across the table. The moment Akane loosened her grip the piglet wiggled free and ran across the table into Ranma's arms. Only for it to freeze as she lifted it up, and like Akane, pressed it against her chest.

"Huh, I guess he really doesn't like the juice." Akane said thoughtfully, "Normally he hates going anywhere near you."

Privately Ranma considered it more likely that Ryouga had been terrified that his crush was going to go for hot water if she continued to fail at dabbing away the juice in his fur. Out loud she said, "Well you're method for holding him seems to be helpful. He's practically frozen." Teasingly Ranma squeezed the piglet that was her rival against her chest a little tighter, and watched as the black piglet gained a decidedly red hue.

"Oi, don't bully him Ranma! Honestly. He's a piglet so stop being mean." Akane said, sending a death glare at Ranma.

The redhead shrugged and laughed, before she walked out of the room and down the hall to the furo.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Wrong. Everything was going wrong. Ever gasped for breath as she struggled to contain the plethora of essence they were trying to shape. Sweat ran down her face and body, causing her thin clothing to cling and hug her body more than normal. Her muscles burned and she would swear that her bones were creaking from the strain. It hadn't started out wrong, no everything had been going well. The chants had been perfect, the starmetal channels had guided the essence perfectly, and all of them had managed to keep their output steady. Yet it hadn't been enough.

Power flared and Ever heard Thousand Steps cry out in pain even as she was forced to her knees. She couldn't say what had gone wrong, not really. One second everything had been fine, and then the power began to climb without warning. At first they had handled it, their calculations had allowed for a certain degree of variance in input. Indeed the extra power had been welcomed as it took the burden of supplying the essence from the five of them and allowed them to focus on shaping both the essence and fate itself. The power hadn't stopped growing. It had continued until the only thing holding it in check was the wills of the sidereals involved in the ritual, and even those were failing.

"We need to release it!" Rhys shouted over the roar of energy. "Something's gone wrong, unless we initiate the secondary release-"

"No!" Zaerius might have been old but he was still a powerful sidereal, and shouting over the roar of barely contained essence was easy for him. "Not yet! We're close Rhys! So Close!"

It took a moment for Ever's strained mind to recognize the sound that Rhys made in return. It was short and barking, like a dog or… or laughter. The laughter of someone who realized no one else got the joke, yet insisted on laughing anyway. Despite how hot she was feeling she shivered at the sound.

"This whole thing is falling apart! A few more seconds and it will be beyond any hope of control!" Rhys shouted back. Whatever Zaerius might had said in reply was drowned out by a cry of pain and an explosion as the area of the circle to her right where Thosand Steps had stood disappeared in a flare of essence. The fate of their companion escaped Ever as the strain on her quadrupled instantly, almost driving her into the ground. A cry of pain escaped her throat as she felt the edges of her clothing catch fire along with the ends of her hair.

To her side she dimly heard Rhys curse loudly. This was it. They had failed. Failed to change the loom, failed to save creation. With limbs burning, literally and metaphorically, she pushed herself up into a sitting position to stare at the night sky. She almost lost further control when she realized that what stars she could see were unrecognizable. For one thing there actually were stars. There weren't supposed to be stars in the sky during calibration, nothing was supposed to be in the sky during it. Not even on the last 'night' of calibration was there supposed to be even a single star. Yet there they were. She searched the stars for Mercury or Venus, and even spared a glance for Mars. While there appeared to be a red star near where Mars was supposed to be nothing else was the same. None of the constellations or stars were familiar.

Something snapped inside her at that moment. They had changed something after all, just not what any of them had wanted to change. A broken laugh tore itself from her throat as she lost what little control she had left over the essence. She felt it break the channels of the ritual circle, felt it snap her connection to it. Yet just when she expected to be blown away by the out of control power she felt something sweep her up and carry her away. Her view of the night sky became obscured by the grim visage of Rhys as he carried her away from the wildly fluctuating pillar essence. Distantly she heard a pair of simultaneous cries as her last two compatriots were consumed. She wanted to cry, while she barely knew the man in red, heck she didn't even know his name really, Zaerius had been her mentor and friend.

Ever felt every change of direction and every bump as Rhys carried her down the mountain path, jumping side to side as he dodged the lightning like threads of uncontrolled essence that were now running wildly down the mountain. By chance she glimpsed the valley from earlier. In that single second she saw a town, brightly lit, grow from nothing only to become a forest, another mountain, a lake, a city grander than anything the current age could boast before it became a darkness enshrouded valley once more. She was sure it continued to change even as they made their wild descent down the mountain. Still their luck couldn't last, not with the disruptions in fate that were running rampant through the area. One second Rhys had been descending onto an outcropping of rock, only for the cliff to shimmer and draw back, leaving two elegantly carved balconies sticking out where there had once been ground. Two balconies that they promptly fell right passed into the open air above the valley.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma set the black piglet down on the edge of the laundry room sink as she shut the door. The pig looked over the edge of the sink before backing up carefully. Or he tried to as all he managed to do was slip and fall into the sink proper. The redhead shook her head as she undid the ties of her shirt.

"Be careful will ya?" She asked, "Anything happens to you, I get in trouble." She gave a very pointed glare to the pig as it seemed to grow thoughtful. "Besides, I thought you wanted to get clean to."

The pig sighed and nodded, sitting down in the sink basin. His eyes tracked her shirt as it spun through the air to land on the hamper. Ryouga went pink and looked away as her pants and boxers followed moments later. Ranma looked down at him as he turned to face the wall and restrained a chuckle. It was amusing how easy it was for her, hell for any girl, to get a rise out of Ryouga. Still he knew she was really a guy and yet… A smirk made its way across her face as an idea occurred to her.

"Let's get you cleaned up P-chan." She said, she stretched out the 'name', and dear god did Akane suck at giving names, in as seductive a manner as possible. As predicted the piglet went rigid as a nail when she did so. Crossing her arms under her chest she leaned forward with a smirk. "Aww is the widdle piggy worried about naked ol' me?" She asked tauntingly.

Almost instantly embarrassment was replaced by fury and Ryouga whirled around with an angry glare. He lunged at her face from the sink, clearing four feet more than a miniature pig should have ever been able to, and smacked into the middle of her breasts as she stood up.

With a smirk she wrapped one arm around the piggy form of her friend/rival and pressed him deeper into marshmallow hell heading through the back door into the furo. She could feel him struggling against her arm, but the difference in scale made it simple to hold him there as she started the hot water flowing into the Ryouga decided to display his displeasure another way.

"OW!" Ranma shrieked as she felt little teeth bite the side of her breast. She snached the piglet with her free arm and whipped the piglet into the barely filling bath. She rubbed one hand against the abused inner side of her breast as the piglet landed in the inch of hot water.

What little water was in the furo was pushed aside as the piglet transformed into a young black haired boy, with a yellow and black dotted bandana around his head. He was the same age as her, and seemed rather angry with her.

"Bastard." Ranma hissed at him as she realized that, yes, she was bleeding where he'd bitten her.

"You shouldn't have tried to suffocate me then!" He snarled back.

"You were breathing fine!" Ranma huffed and turned away from him. It had been a little bit of harmless teasing, why did he always have to get so angry about it?

"I wouldn't call be squashed alive good for breathing." Ryouga said as he leaned back into the Furo.

"Then practice holding your breath." Ranma said as she turned on the shower next to the furo. As much as she'd like to simply get into the furo and turn into a guy she needed to get clean first. Which mean dealing with the shower that, despite all the efforts of everyone in the house, still only managed to produce lukewarm water at best. Oh sure they'd gotten it to produce hot water on occasion, but the repairs never lasted the night before it was back to being lukewarm. While not cold enough to activate a curse, it also wasn't warm enough to deactivate one. Needless to say everyone blamed Jusenkyo for it.

Behind her she heard Ryouga snort and turn away from her to gaze at the wall. He clearly wasn't going to continue playing along. Pity. The next few minutes passed to the sound of water splashing as Ranma cleaned herself off. Just as she finished rinsing off the last of the soap a loud bang shook the house and both of the two martial artists felt their hair stand on end. They exchanged a look and Ranma quickly slipped over to the single high window the room sported.

Standing on the tips of her toes Ranma peered out of the window. The limited view provided only a glimpse of sky, which was rapidly being covered in black inky clouds.

"Well?" Ryouga asked from the furo.

"Looks like a storm is rolling in. Really quickly to." Ranma said. She looked over to the bandana wearing boy, who was still staring resolutely into the wall. "Didn't they say that it was supposed to be sunny for the rest of the week?"

He nodded, still facing the wall. "Yeah, supposed to be getting hotter over the course of the week. First heatwave this year." He said, "Won't be the first time someone's got something wrong.

Ranma glanced back out the window in time to spot large drops of water splatter on the glass. "Well it's raining now. Someone's gone and goofed." She said, then the house rattled as a gust of wind hit it. There was a splash as Ryouga finally sat up in the furo with a curse.

"That was-" He started.

"Powerful." Ranma interjected as she continued to stare out the window where she could see the laundry being whisked off the line by the rapidly growing storm.. The house rattled again moments later. "Come on. Let's see what's going on." She said as she turned away.

"Yeah sure." Ryouga said as he stood from the water.

Both turned to the entrance and took a single step, then things got… strange. There was a loud bang and a flash of bluish light that was almost white. For a single moment Ranma felt purple, tasted the sight of water falling upward, and saw the tartness of an orange; then it was over and reality reasserted itself… sorta.

As Ranma's senses readjusted to reality she realized three things: First, she was still naked; second, she was now several hundred feet in the air plummeting towards a town on a hill that was definitely not Tokyo, for one thing it was too small by a factor of a million or so; third, her ki was pulsing and singing to her like never before. Previously pulling on the well of energy that made up the building blocks of everything, from life to the rocks beneath her feet, required a significant amount of focus and something to help anchor it, like say an emotion. Now it was practically throwing itself at her, all but whispering into her ear the possibilities.

As she spun through the air towards the ground she pushed the questions that were popping into her head to the side as she fought, successfully, to slow her fall. Amongst them were questions like: How she got there, why was her ki suddenly so eager to be used, and oh yeah weren't there supposed to be _**stars**_ in the night sky?

That last one caused her to double take hard enough that she actually spun around to face the sky again just to look. True to the short glimpse she'd managed while spinning uncontrollably there were no stars in the sky. Pushing the thought from her mind she spun back around to face the ground again.

The only thing she had time to do was curse as she realized the heavy wood beam and ceramic tiles of the roof of the largest building, in the center of the diamond at the top of the hill, were a mere second from meeting her face.

Glowing in shades of red and gold like the dawning sun Ranma Saotome crashed, face first, through the roof of the fortress dining hall in Garrison Heights, Greyfalls.

-0-0-0-0-0-

2nd Lieutenant Ryu Kumon of the Japanese Self-Defence Force stumbled as the wave of what he could only describe as "everything that isn't" washed over him. He gagged as the taste of a flat note faded from his tongue. Who knew sound could taste that bad? He shook himself off and frowned. His eyes slowly adjusted to the sudden change in light. Tokyo had been the middle of a hot summer day, this place appeared to be in the middle of the night. To add to it the street he was on looked nothing like the parade ground he had just been on moments earlier.

The street was cobbled stone that glowed a soft red in the light of the paper lanterns that were hanging around the doorways and corners of the distinctly chinese style of buildings that bracketed each side of the roadway. All of it was lit up a dull brown. A moment was spent trying to find the source of the light before he realized it was coming from him. It was his ki, energized and filling the air around him as it overflowed from within.

The street was empty, not surprising given how late it seemed to be, but he could hear movement from within some of the buildings. It would probably be a good idea to get off what appeared to be a main street until he knew what was going on. It would be pointless, however, if he failed to reign in his ki. He focused on his ki and pulled it inward. It resisted briefly before fading back within. There was a clatter as small pieces of rock that his aura had drawn from the ground fell back to earth.

"That was easy…" He murmured aloud. Reigning his ki in had been incredibly simple, a bare thought and it had simply flowed as he wished. Commanding his ki had never been that easy before. Usually he had to fight to bring it out or force it down, as did everyone he knew. There was a reason the most common way of projecting ki was via focusing on an emotion. Emotions stirred your ki, making it easier to call upon since all you had to do was provide direction, conscious or not.

A rumble from far above reminded him of his situation and he quickly slipped into a nearby alley. Now concealed he took inventory of what he had still had with him. His unit had been in the process of forming up for a live fire combat exercise when this had happened. As such he had his standard 9mm pistol, Type 89 Assault rifle, and his combat knife. He double checked the pouches along his chest and hips. He had enough ammunition for both rifle and handgun to last a while so long as he was careful. He looked down at his chest and smilled, his radio was still attached.

He flipped it on and said, "This is 2nd Lieutenant Kumon Ryu of the 1st Infantry Battalion, JGSDF. Does anyone hear this?" He didn't have to wait long before a reply came.

"This is Sergeant Akiyama, 1st Infantry, JGSDF. It's good to hear you sir." Ryu grinned as the reply crackled from the radio. Sergeant Akiyama was his 2IC in the 3rd Platoon of the 1st Infantry's 1st Company. He was more than twice Ryu's age and had been serving for thirty years.

"Good to hear you as well Sergeant. Any ideas on the situation?" He asked.

"FUBARed. Completely and totally. I'm with a squad of men near a cliffside tower. We appear to be near the lower levels of this city sir." The older man responded.

"Lower levels?" Ryu asked.

"Yes sir… You haven't looked up yet have you sir?" Ryu winced at the soft admonishment.

"Er… Not quite yet." He said, before looking up and out of the alleyway. Towering high above the buildings around him was the hill that this town seemed to be built on. He couldn't say how far up the hill he was, but the fortress that was clearly visible from his position. "Sergeant," He said, "That is a fortress."

"Yes sir it is." Came the, surprisingly unsarcastic, reply of his 2IC.

Ryu sighed. "Odds we haven't gotten in over our heads?"

"Rather low I image. One moment we're loading up, the next we're standing around trying to stop hearing green." The sergeant said, "Now we're apparently in a feudal castle town."

"So it seems. Supplies sergeant?" Ryu asked.

"Full weapon load, everyone was participating in the combat training today sir. We're lacking any long term equipment. No bags, no kit for camping out. Nothing beyond bullets and grenades. Other than what's on us though we've got a vehicle sitting here, a Komatsu LAV with a .50 Caliber Machine Gun on the roof."

Ryu cursed mentally. Normally the presence of a LAV would be welcome, but the situation was anything but normal. Trying to sneak out with an LAV would be next to impossible, but they couldn't leave it behind if they had the choice. "We need a location to meet up. Any idea where-" A thunderous explosion rocked the town as the western wall of the fortress disintegrated under a brilliant golden wave of emotionless ki. Ryu felt his gut drop at the sight. He recognized that ki technique.

"Lieutenant, sir, are you okay?" The sergeant demanded.

"I'm fine." Ryu said after the sergeant repeated himself several times. "Sergeant does your LAV have a radio?"

"Of course it does. You have a plan sir?" Akiyama asked.

"Not a plan, unfortunately." Ryu said with a sigh. "Broadcast on open channels. All forces are to converge on the castle. Local forces will most likely be hostile. Engage at discretion."

"Sir? You want us to assault a castle?" The Sergeant asked incredulous.

"No, I don't. However I recognize that ki technique that just blasted open the wall. If the person responsible for that is who I think it is, then we might just get some answers by sticking around." Ryu said. He leaned out around the corner as windows rattled open and people began to stick their heads out of windows up and down the block. Most of the people looked relatively normal, but one man who was leaning out of his window had turquoise skin and six fingers on his left hand.

"Answers might be important sir, but so is staying alive. Sticking around when someone just kicked the -"

"I'm aware Sergeant, but if we don't take this shot now, we may not get another." Ryu said, "The person who can do that little trick can be very hard to find when he wants to be. Last month's security briefing, I know you managed to get a copy. Remember Ranma Saotome."

"Fuck. That's that guy who collapsed Mt. Horai right?" The sergeant said.

"That's him, or her depending on the circumstances." Ryu said with a sigh. In the distance he could hear the sound of steel boots hitting cobblestone. The local soldiers were obviously responding to the battle above, and if the width of the street was any indication of its importance then they would probably be passing right next to his hiding place.

"And you want to run towards this guy's fight?"

Ryu shook his head. "I realize I sound crazy sergeant, but this sort of shit happens to Saotome all the time. Our best bet to find out how it happened is going to be getting up there and asking him." A second loud rumble rolled across the city as a second blast of ki ripped through the same wall, in the process removing most of the base of a tower that promptly collapsed. "I'm heading up sergeant, I exp-" A flicker of gold in the sky caught his eye and he trailed off as it got bigger and bigger.

"Sir?"

"Get to cover. Now." The lieutenant ordered as he threw himself deeper into the alleyway. The golden light grew brighter until it was light a sun in the black sky. Then, with a loud crash, it slammed into the cobbled street with enough force to send powdered stone flying in all directions. Ryu coughed as the dust filled the air in an impromptu fog. A golden glowing fog that was nearly impossible to see through. He picked himself up and made his way back up the alleyway to the roadway, rifle at the ready.

"Sir are you still there? We saw an explosion of light from down here." The radio crackled.

"Some golden comet or something just crashed into the street here. I can't see what it is through the dust, but I'm going to check it out. Get to my position as fast as you can." He ordered.

"On our way sir."

With that issue out of the way Ryu turned his mind to the source of the golden light. The dust that filled the alleyway was rapidly settling even as he approached the street. As he stepped carefully out of the alleyway a gust of wind picked up rolled gently up the street, clearing the dust as it went.

With the air clear he could see the source of the crash clearly. A young woman, no older than eighteen years old, lay unconscious in a small crater where she had landed. She had long black hair and was wearing a teal leotard that was just barely covered by a rather damaged yukata. One of her arms was bent at an odd angle, the break in her forearm was clear even from feet away. But none of this drew his eyes as he knelt at her side, for on her forehead gleamed a solid circle of gold.

As he reached one hand out to touch her forehead a voice shouted from down the street. "STAND BACK! Get away from the Anathema if you value your life scavenger!" It was accented with a deep booming tone, but it was clearly a dialect of Japanese.

Ryu turned and leveled his rifle on instinct. Down the street a young man stood clothed in blue robes that danced in a breeze that felt laced with ki. Ryu's trained eyes picked out the way he stood, feet braced to move, and the lean muscles that could be seen beneath his tight robes. The man was a martial artist, most likely a master as well. Equally worrying to Ryu, however, was the large number of soldiers that he could see behind the man.

Over fifty men could be seen wearing what he could only describe as era accurate Roman Legionary armour. Each wore heavy steel plates over leather and carried a large tower shield. Most carried swords, some were carrying axes or maces, and each of them looked like they knew how to use them.

"Who are you?" Ryu asked as he scanned the girl for pockets out of the corner of his eye.

"I am Nellens Junlein, Third Coil Monk of the Immaculate Order." The man responded with a glare.

Ryu spotted a pocket artfully concealed on the front of the yukata, its presence only given away by the small holes ripped into the fabric by the crash. He carefully took one hand off his gun are reached into the pocket. He was rewarded by a small plastic card. It was a student ID for a Kuno Kodachi a student of… St. Hebe-something, unfortunately there was damage to the card and most of the name was missing. Still he recognized the name, it was impossible not to given how many procedures the Nerima JGSDF HQ had for dealing with the local martial artists. Each martial artist above a certain level, usually around twice as capable as an ordinary black belt, had a file that was kept as up to date as possible. Just in case. Unfortunately this meant he couldn't walk away from the girl. Both honour and law demanded it. Damn it.

"Well Nellens Junlein, I am 2nd Lieutenant Kumon Ryu of the Japanese Self-Defence Force. I'm afraid I can't comply with your request." He said, stepping closer to the girl. With one hand he slid his bayonet out of its sheath on his upper thigh, the soldiers behind the monk tensed up as he slowly raised it and slotted it onto the end of his rifle.

The monk frowned, probably annoyed at the drawing of a recognizable weapon, and the strength of the winds increased, buffeting the the Lieutenant as he tried to keep the weapon on target. A soft blue glow began to waft off the monk. It coiled and swirled with the wind. "The girl is anathema, see the brand upon her forehead. She is one of the Blasphemous, a deciever of men who worships dark gods and drags-" Junlein said.

"Impossible." Ryu said, cutting off the monk. "I've never heard of such a thing, and she comes from the same place I do. We haven't been around long enough for something like that to be true." He deliberately left off 'I Hope' from that. If what he'd heard about the Kunos, who he'd thankfully managed to avoid during his brief stay in the furinkan area, was true then turning to dark gods wouldn't be the strangest thing that had happened. The most dangerous perhaps, but not the strangest.

The monk stared down at him with annoyance and exasperation clear to see on his face. "Very well." He said with a sigh. Traces of blue ki swirled with the exhalation before billowing outwards riding the sudden gust of wind that swirled away from the monk as he slid into an actual martial arts stance.

Ryu trained his rifle on the monk with both hands as he knelt protectively in front of the young woman. The winds buffeted his rifle as though trying to throw aside his aim.

Behind the Monk the soldiers took a step back before sliding into a tight shieldwall. Ryu was given the distinct impression that they were more going through the motions than actually expecting to be needed, if the grins and whispers between soldiers meant anything. The clearly expected the monk to crush him and move on with little issue.

For a moment the only sound was the ringing of wind chimes and the rustle of paper lanterns. Then the girl behind him groaned. For a heartbeat Ryu's eyes twitched towards the girl, and the monk _moved_ , sweeping forward with the grace of the wind. Ryu pulled the trigger of his rifle and a gunshot rang out over the street.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Entering a building through the roof hurts, doubly so when you smash into it face first after falling several hundred feet. On a good day such a thing would easily kill the average man or woman. It was, perhaps, a good thing for Ranma that she was anything but ordinary as she smashed through the roof of Garrison Height's officer dining hall and slammed into the fifty foot long solid oak table that graced the center of the room. There was of course substantial pain as she smashed first through ceramic tile, then an eight inch wooden beam (also probably oak), before finally cracking the six inch oak table with the force of her crash. It wasn't the hardest landing she'd ever had, but it would leave a lasting bruise.

The hall she landed in had a very plain ceiling for the most part, in fact the room itself was rather plain except for a few bright tapestries that decorated the walls. Not that Ranma particularly cared as she stared, somewhat dazed, at the ceiling while gently rubbing one side of her face. She did care, however, when the sharp ring of steel being drawn cut through the ringing of her ears.

Without hesitation she launched herself into a forward roll off the table, sliding passed several well dressed women in the process, and quickly brought herself into a fighting stance facing the table.

The blade she had just dodged had buried itself half way into the table. The blade itself was roughly five and half feet long, black as the darkest depths of the ocean and being wielded by a woman who was almost as beautiful as one of her fiance's. She had long blue hair tied back in an elaborate french braid. She was wearing a curve hugging blue dress with a slit up both sides of her legs.

She was scowling at just like her fiance's usually did the first time they'd met, Ranma thought.

Up and down the table men and women were rapidly streaming away towards doors at the front and back of the room. Ranma could hear many of them screaming and panicking as they pushed and shoved each other out of their way.

"MAGISTRATE!" Shouted a large man at the head of the table. Beside him several men in luxurious clothing were standing, each of them trying to reach a weapon that was laying against the wall behind them. "What are you doing!"

The woman huffed at the man and without issue drew her blade from the table before leveling it at Ranma. "That woman is anathema your lordship." She said.

"She's right Satrap." A tall broad man with brown hair, who looked like he was carved from marble, up the table shouted as he hefted a warhammer that was nearly as big as Ranma made from a pure white metal.

The fat man scowled before looking at the four men around him. "Sesus, send someone for reinforcements. The rest of you deal with her." He said gesturing to the guards around the side of the room.

Ranma scowled and sighed. Another day another horrible series fo events. Mind you she normally had a bit more context than this. "Now hang on a moment." She said as she backed away from the sword wielding lunatic in a dress. She stopped as she caught sight of a few guards, no longer occupied with the evacuated crowd, hemming her in with swords drawn.

"Words won't save you Anathema." The female magistrate said as she stepped down from the table. She was idly spinning her blade in one hand as she stepped off the bench that ran along the length of the table. The sparkling trail of water vapour that it left behind showed exactly how complicated the patterns she was writing in the air were, causing Ranma to firm up her stance as she recognized the skill required for that sort of control. "I don't care how you came to be here, or what excuses you might have. As a magistrate of the Scarlet Empire I sentence you to death. May you find forgiveness in the next life." That was the last warning before her blade came slicing towards Ranma's neck.

With a yelp Ranma leaned backwards into a flip, the blade just barely cut the air over her breasts as she did. She continued into a second backflip, then a third as the woman pressed the assault. Out of the corner of her eye Ranma spotted the large man charging to the aid of the woman. He still had a quarter of the room to cover though, more than enough time to deal with the woman.

Rather than continue into another flip, which would have put her into range of one of the guards, she twisted into a horizontal spin that let the woman's thrust with the blade sail underneath her. She grabbed the bluenette's wrist as she came down, the force of her twist drawing a cry of pain from the woman and sending her sword to the ground. Coming down from her spin Ranma planted her feet and threw the woman over her shoulder into the oncoming ranks of armoured guards, sending three of them to the ground.

She completed the throw with just enough time to profile sideways, allowing the massive white warhammer to slam into the ground with enough force to send shattered stone whizzing through the air. Ranma idly brushed aside several that came flying towards her even as she stepped inside the guard of the large man. She smiled confidently as the look of rage on his face swiftly transitioned to fear. He buckled over as she drove her fist into his stomach before a solid kick to the chest sent him flying backwards into the table, shattering the thick wood with his weight.

Ranma sighed and stretched as the room went silent except for the sound of the ordinary soldiers slowly forming a wide perimeter with men taking up positions near doorways and windows. Perhaps to block her in, perhaps to have a quick exit if things went horribly wrong.

The four men near the 'satrap', and Ranma had no idea what sort of title that was, had retrieved their weapons and were making whispered conversation as they slowly crossed the room. Ranma could make out what they were saying, just, if she strained her ears. It wasn't anything important, just strategies, which wouldn't work, and the word Anathema repeated time and again.

Ranma smiled as she continued to stretch. She noticed that despite the way she deliberately added a small bounce to her warm-up routine the noble looking men kept their eyes firmly on her face. Good, it had been a long time since she'd had an honest to god challenge, nearly six months since that disaster of a wedding, and regardless of why they wanted her dead she'd enjoy this…

The woman from earlier retrieved her weapon, though she was wincing slightly as she brought it up defensively. She circled Ranma as she slowly made her way towards her down friend. The large man seemed to be trying to pull himself out of the table without much success.

"You know most people introduce themselves with their names rather than their swords." Ranma said blithely. Behind her several soldiers slipped into the room, each one carrying a bow. She ignored them. The soldiers weren't holding themselves like they knew more than how to stand in line and stab what was in front of them. They could be annoying, but they weren't the big threat.

"Whitemane Lily, Magistrate in service of Her Majesty the Scarlet Empress." The woman said bitingly.

Ranma grinned. "Saotome Ranma, Heir to the Mutsubetsu Kakuto Ryu." She said.

"I have no idea what that is." Lily said derisively.

"A Martial Arts school." Ranma said as she tracked the group of four nobles with one eye. Their weapons were as eclectic as their clothing. One carried a long green metal spear, another carried a white sword as big as Ranma, the third a thin blue blade nearly six feet long, and the last wore a pair of red gauntlets.

"It will take more than martial arts to bring down a child of the dragons." She said as she reached her companion. Keeping her blade pointed at Ranma with one hand she wrapped an arm around the man's shoulder and heaved him out of the table. The man muttered thanks as he retrieved his hammer.

"Not the first time I've run into someone claiming to be part dragon." Ranma said with a bounce and a predatory grin that sent shivers of fear running through the soldiers. Those who could took another step back while those who couldn't cowered behind their shields. Ranma remembered Prince Herb quite well. The Bastard had locked her as a girl for trying to defend Akane, and had paid the price for it during their duel.

"The last guy was an arrogant ass as well." She said, getting glares from the 'dragons' in the room. "Well he was," she said toying idly with a lock of her loose hair. Her posture was as calculated as her tone to piss off each and every 'dragon' in the room. Flippant, dismissive, and carefree. It was a posture developed through years of experience to drive her opponents into a rage. After all an angry opponent was a sloppy opponent.

"He kept going on, and on, and on about the superiority of his blood. How I was pathetic and beneath him because some ancestor of his had slept with a dragon or something." The glares redoubled around the room on every face except the first magistrate, whose eyes were going wide.

Ranma grinned a grin that everyone who knew her dreaded. "I told him if he wanted to be proud of fucking a lizard, then he could go back home and do it there." There was absolute silence around the entire room as they digested the statement. Lily stared at Ranma with horror before she turned to the rest of her companions and opened her mouth.

"Don't-" She never got a second word off before the noble with the red gauntlets roared with anger and lunged for Ranma, hands outstretched.

The man was fast, Ranma admitted, but compared to her he may as well have been walking through molasses. She tilted her head to one side allowing his fist to slide by before she stepped inside his guard and slammed her open palm into his chest. The man tried to evade, twisting impossibly to do so, and in part succeeded. Her palm, rather than crash firmly into the center of his diaphragm instead impacted squarely with his right lung. There was a loud crack and the man stumbled before throwing another punch, less wild than the first but still reckless when fighting someone like her.

Ranma smiled as she sidestepped the punch and casually tripped him with her foot. There was a second crack and a whimper escaped the man. Not surprising really, her first strike had broken at least three ribs and that fall had likely made the issue worse. He'd live though, which was more than she could say of herself if these people had their way.

Before she had a chance to even mock the man for his clumsiness, purely to continue to goad him and his companions into further hasty action, his companions arrived. She stepped back to avoid the swift overhead blow of the large white blade. It cut into the ground deeply, lodging firmly into the ground. A whisper of wind was all the warning she received as the thin blue blade came slicing in from behind. A flicker of green as faint as the wind heralded the approach of the spear from the side. A nearly perfect ambush. It took three step to break it.

Ranma took two steps forward, one to close the distance, one to climb up the embedded blade, and a third step had her springing off the top of the the man's head into the air. Behind her the spear and sword wielders avoided colliding with the grace of long practice.

From across the hall the Satrap shouted, "Fire now!" Immediately the archers Ranma had dismissed earlier raised and fired their bows in one swift movement. Flying through the air meant that she was an easy target for the presumably well trained soldiers. Or she should have been.

Ranma twisted in the air as the arrows descended on her and somehow managed to fall faster than she should have. As she touched down on the table the arrows, previously on target, instead soared overhead to impact the far wall. Impishly she plucked one out of the air and twirled it in her hands like a baton before using the tip to block the strike of Lily's sword.

"Attack me by yourself again?" Ranma asked as she held back the two handed blade with one hand.

A shadow blocking out one of the plain chandeliers was all the warning Ranma had as the large man with the warhammer descended from on high. She twirled away down the table with ease as the man's blow blew another hole into its battered top. She flicked up several of the remaining plates, most of them still loaded with food, with her feet and sent them spinning towards the three nobles who were trying to get their friend back on his feet.

A roast bird of some kind smacked the spear wielder in the head hard enough to send him to the ground on top of his friend. The big sword swinger blocked most of the barrage using his sword as a shield while the owner of the thin blade simply danced away.

Lily leapt over her comrade and slid under the barrage of plates and food before springing forward into a diving stab. Ranma flipped off the table and out of the way, landing roughly opposite to where she had started the fight.

Ranma raked her eyes over the assembled fighters. Of the four nobles one was groggily sitting up from having taken a bird to the face. One was almost definitely out of the fight, a combination of broken ribs and a possibly punctured lung made sure of it. The other two were fine if exceedingly angry at her. The Satrap and his guards were fine, except for the three that had taken a thrown Lily to the chest. They were still out cold.

Speaking of Lily other than a few bits of food staining her dress and a probably sore wrist she appeared to be fine. Her friend was in equally good condition as he hefted the oversized hammer, though he appeared to be breathing heavily. He was probably still winded from the strike to the chest he'd taken from her.

The building rumbled and dust fell from the ceiling. "Take care of the Anathema." The Satrap instructed, "I will investigate whatever plan she is trying to distract us from."

Ranma watched him go with a bemused air. Whatever these people thought she was, they seemed to expect a great deal from her. She turned to the rest of the room as he left and said, "You're giving me a lot of credit for someone who just fell through your roof naked."

"One of the Anathema is not to be underestimated." The noble with the thin katana-like blade responded. He and the man with the large cleaver-esque blade remained in front of their downed companions with their weapons raised in defensive positions. "Magistrate Whitemane, we must buy time for our wounded to escape." He said.

"Follow my lead Lord Mnemon Ice Hand." Lily replied as she circled Ranma, "Zeriah, follow me in."

The large man snorted. "What else would I do girl." He said.

Ranma hummed quietly. They weren't backing down, not that she particularly surprised. Overwhelming stubbornness was a common trait amongst her usual foes. "If you're going to keep tryin to kill me, could you at least tell me a bit more about why?" She asked, "This doesn't seem like it's about the ceiling, or the table."

"You bear the mark of the forsaken, and you glow with the stolen powers of the sun. Do not try to pretend innocence monster." Mnemon said, before taking a step forward swinging his sword as he did. The air in front of the blade crystallized into a half-dozen sparkling blue icicles with sharp gleaming edges that flew across the hall.

Ranma cursed loudly as the icicles sliced through the air towards her. She leaned to the side like a reed in the wind, dodging the first, then the second with inhuman grace before she deflected the third into the ceiling. It disappeared through the roof without slowing down. The fourth was dodged with grace equal to the first two before Lily's blade came scything in towards her side in an attempt to inhibit her evasion. The war cry of her companion echoed from the far side along with the whistling swing of his warhammer.

Ranma sighed internally. Of course the guy had a magic sword, because why not make things more complicated then they were before. She appended that note. While none of the others had a blue weapon like the man, the metal of their weapons held the same otherworldly sheen that she had ignored before. A mistake in hindsight. It meant that she couldn't afford to simply toy with them. No she'd have to take this as seriously as fighting Ryouga, or there was a very good chance they'd actually do what her erstwhile rival had consistently failed to accomplish.

As the blade, warhammer and icicles inched ever closer she reached down inside and let the instinct she had developed over a decade of intense martial arts training guide her actions. She stepped forward into the icicles, barely feeling them as they shattered against skin tough enough to withstand a collapsing mountain. She swirled around like the wind, having moved fast enough that neither Lily nor Zeriah had been able to track her. In fact both were only just starting to realize their target was now missing when she struck. One foot found the handle of the warhammer, sending it flying from the man's hands before a second one sent it's owner through a nearby pillar.

Ranma's follow up spinning kick towards Lily was desperately parried with the flat of her blade, as was the next, and the next after that. A swirling maelstrom of water whipped up around her as she desperately tried to hold her ground. Mnemon and his remaining uninjured companion chose that moment to cut in, relieving the beset magistrate with a flurry of their own strikes. A trail of ice crystals followed in the wake of Mnemon's blade, and when he missed Ranma and cut into the stone of the floors and the timber of the pillars instead it left razor thin slices ringed with glittering ice.

Ranma swayed between the precise swings with pure skill. Those blows she did not dodge outright were turned aside with the brush of a hand or a flick of the arrow she still held onto. Yet she couldn't find an opening even as Lily rejoined the offensive with the grace of long practice.

As they drove her back towards the table the large noble with the cleaver like blade stepped back and drove his blade into the floor. With a loud crash a wall of stone, shaped like a fan of blades identical to his pushed its way out of the floor between Ranma and the table. She was trapped, Lily to her right; the large and laughing noble to her left; and Mnemon directly in front of her.

The redhead cursed inside her own head and stifled a sigh. It looked like she'd have to reveal one of her trump cards to get out of this situation. Privately she made a commitment to pry the secrets of the Bakusai Tenketsu from Cologne if she lived through this, before leveling a hand towards Mnemon as he went for the finishing blow. To an outsider it must have looked like the panicked last second wards of a doomed young girl. Any who actually knew Ranma would have known better than to stand in front of that hand as her Ki surged and the faint aura of red and gold around her roared towards the sky.

"Moko Takabisha." Ranma whispered as she gathered and released an immense amount of ki in the bare space of time between heartbeats. Ranma had created the original Moko Takabisha as a counter to Ryouga's Shi Shi Hokodan. It was originally fuelled by her confidence, but as experience had shown maintaining confidence was almost impossible to do when losing. So she had practiced in an effort to remove emotion from it entirely. Doing so was difficult, but Ranma had been making progress before she found herself falling through the night sky. Now as she called upon her Ki it leapt to respond, flowing as she willed. The blast she unleashed lacked even a flicker of the blue of her confidence, instead the twisting beam of coruscating power was the pure golden light of the sun, shot through with the reds and purples of the dawn.

Mnemon never had a chance to respond as the blast caught him in the chest. It carried him across the room, through the solid stone exterior wall, across the courtyard of the fortress and again through the twelve foot thick wall that ringed Garrison Heights. The Ki blast petered out in the sky above the city, but Mnemon's broken body continued flying out passed the city walls into the darkened countryside beyond.

Lily and the unnamed noble stumbled back in fear as Ranma's presence swelled Majesticly and the aura around her blazed until it filled the entire room. Soldiers cowered, may fleeing as an ethereal dragon formed of the shades of the first light of dawn spread it's wings across the hall with a roar.

Ranma looked up at it and frowned. "That's new." She said before pushing it aside as something to deal with later. She faced the two dragon blooded warriors angrily. "I don't like fighting to kill." She said quietly, "but if you keep trying to kill me, I won't have a choice." She had no illusions about the fate of Mnemon. He had skill, but he clearly lacked the durability that most of her usual foes possessed. If the blast hadn't killed him, then the fall had surely finished what it started. Killing was a last resort, and one Ranma was uncomfortably more familiar with than she wanted to be after Jusendo and Saffron.

Through the hole in the wall voices could be heard as men reacted to the demolishment of the outer wall of the officers dining hall.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Thoughts swirled through the mind of Whitemane Lily, young scion of house Iseli and Magistrate of the Realm, not a single one of them was helpful as she stared down the young girl before her. Surrounded by a waving mane of crimson red hair, and an anima banner that had formed a rearing dragon above head she was terrifying. Lily had faced an anathema once before, several decades earlier, at the side of her friend and mentor Ragara Zeriah. They had emerged victorious, though Zeriah had taken several notable scars from the encounter.

Yet that man, one of the Blasphemous, hadn't possessed even a fraction of the skill that this girl had brought forth. Six on one she easily made two Dragon Lords, Dragon Blooded officers with decades of experiences, into liabilities that had to quit the field. She had easily held her own against the four of them, disabling Zeriah in the process.

Lily spared glance for her friend. He in the rubble of one of several shattered pillars. Only the slow rise and fall of his chest belied his status amongst the living. He would be no further help. Nor would Mnemon Ice Hand be of any aid either after he had been struck down out of no where by a raging beam of pure essence just as they had been about to strike the girl down in turn. All that remained of the Dragon Lord of the 23rd Legions Fifth Dragon was the blue jade reaper daiklave, Whisper of Frozen Ruin, that had embedded itself in the stone next to the Forsaken girl.

"Well?" Ranma said as she took a step forward. Both Lily and the Dragon Lord of the Third Dragon took a step back towards the hole in the wall. They exchanged a look and Lily steeled herself to continue the battle, despite the raw terror the Forsaken's anima banner instilled with her mere presence.

The naked redhead stepped forward again and her right hand caressed the hilt of Whisper of Frozen Ruin. She examined it for a moment before leaving it where it was. Not like she needed it anyway, Lily thought derisively. The girl had torn through them butt naked and barehanded and the most they'd managed was to force her to escalate.

"In here!" Came a shout from outside as the clatter of steel boots on stone echoed through the hole in the wall. Reinforcements, finally. Still, what could ordinary men and soldiers do against this girl that she and five other dragonblooded had failed to accomplish?

The last anathema she had battled had been skilled with a blade, but nothing beyond what a competent dragon blood could manage. That encounter had made her doubt the capabilities that they were purported to have in legend. It was why she was still in the fortress rather than riding south with General Kitano after the anathema who was leading an army out of Vaneha.

The chance for her to think passed quickly as a man in ornate steel plate armour mantled the broken edge of the wall. He carried an ordinary blue jade daiklave in one hand. "I see you haven't managed to finish her quite yet Magistrate." He said as several more dynasts in ornate jade and steel armour clambered through the broken wall. Each of them was wielding an artifact weapon of their own as they encircled the forsaken girl. Nearly two dozen dragon blooded dynasts in full regalia clambered through the hole in the wall, and were immediately followed by a wave of ordinary legionaries.

Lily smiled as the reinforcements formed up around her. Ordinary men might not be able to stand against one of the forsaken, but so many of the dragon blooded host would surely be… Her thoughts trailed off as she glanced over at Ranma. The girl didn't look worried as dozens of soldiers flooded into the room. She looked exasperated, like she had been in identical situations before and had gone through them often enough to find them irritating more than dangerous.

"Be careful." Lily said to the dynast as he sidled up to her side. "We're already down four people, plus there's whatever caused that rumbling earlier."

The dynast nodded grimly. "Another anathema-"

"Another?" Lily exclaimed.

"Aye, another, he crashed through the roof of the main barracks. It's taken this long to bring up reinforcements from the troops patrolling the city." He said, "Most of the others dynasts in the city are trying to keep him contained, but it hasn't been going well over there either. We're down nearly half a dragon of normal men."

"Dead?" Lily asked. Half a dragon's worth of men? That was nearly four hundred men, and in such a short time?

"Just wounded fortunately." He said, "The monster seems to prefer crippling his opponents rather than killing them. Daana take me if I can figure out why."

Lily frowned as she glanced over to the girl who was now separated from her by several rows of legionnaires. 'I don't like fighting to kill, but if you keep trying to kill me, I won't have a choice.' The girl had said that not even a minute earlier. Perhaps this other had similar hang-ups? Crippling your opponent was cruel, but if you refused to kill what other choice would you have to remove someone trying to kill you? A man with broken arms, or shattered legs was hardly a threat.

"Whatever his reason we have to be careful with this girl. The strike she used to break the wall took her the moment between the swings of a sword to unleash. Mnemmon had no warning." Lily said finally.

The dynast nodded. "Then we'll have to just not give her that moment." He stepped forward, pushing through the lines of soldiers, "Take a moment to rest Magistrate. We'll handle this for now."

Somehow his words, meant as reassurance, only made Lily more worried as she looked on the nonchalant face of their opponent. The red head's gaze met hers for just a moment and Lily couldn't restrain the chill the rolled down her spine as she met the ice cold orbs of blue. The girl had been laughing, mocking them even, as they had fought across the hall earlier. It had been obvious that she viewed them as little threat. Now though there was was none of the humour that had once filled those eyes, only a surety of purpose that frankly scared the Magistrate. No girl so young should have eyes like that.

As the Dynast raised his sword and shouted his challenge before gesturing the men forward with a grand sweep of his blade five words, spoken by the girl before, rang through her head. 'I won't have a choice.'

-0-0-0-0-0-

Author's Note: This is the third of my stories that I intend to write until finished. This is technically part 1 of 2 for what was going to be Chapter One. The second half is in progress but I decided that this point made a more natural cut off point. Plus it's a lot longer than I thought it was going to be.

Tangled Fate has a bit of a history. It started shortly after I discovered Exalted in… i think it was 2015. It's been in development in one form or another ever since. I've had around eight separate ideas on how to handle this crossover, but only three of them were typed up. Each one was written, revised, rewritten and then scrapped. Each one was probably over 20k words by the time I scrapped it for the next revision. Honestly this is the story with the largest amount of planning out of the trio. Still I've finally settled on a story and am actually reasonably happy with what I've written.

Oh and that first part, with the Sidereals, is the only part that has consistently survived two years of rewrites and revisions. Maybe I'll post excerpts from my graveyard of writing at some point. For now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think and how I can improve my writing style. Unlike my other stories most suggestions for how the story will progress will be disregarded since I've already got an outline for the story. Don't expect frequent updates since unlike my PA/Multicross SI, this is actually somewhat serious.


	2. Chapter 2

_Leaves. Trees. A forest, shimmering in the Moonlight._

 _Water. A Glade. A pond, reflecting the beauty of the Moon above._

 _Silver hair. A woman. Dancing by the pond, her reflection the glimmering moon._

 _She notices. A smile. Words, lost in the play of moonlight on her skin._

 _A Whisper. A smile. Words, felt more than heard._

 _ **Hello Hibiki Ryouga.**_

 _ **Warrior, Wanderer.**_

 _ **Long you have searched.**_

 _ **For meaning, for family.**_

 _ **Lost, but not by choice.**_

 _ **Two curses, conspiring,**_

 _ **keep them from you.**_

 _ **But survive you have,**_

 _ **strong, resilient, unbreakable.**_

 _ **None of it matters anymore,**_

 _ **child of the Moon.**_

 _ **For you are a Lunar.**_

 _ **You are Exalted.**_

 _A smile. A wolf's howl. The world, consumed in light._

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter Two: Moon of Broken Fate

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

The nights of Calibration were, in Setarial's opinion, both a kind reprieve from the day to day grind of managing a nation-state of Greyfalls position and an interminable bore that came from being blacklisted from mainstream Yu-Shan. Well she had known what she was getting into when she arrange to become the Goddess of Greyfalls, both nation and city. Still not having to deal with the politics of Yu-Shan was something she treasured, even after several hundred years.

She sighed as she sipped her glass of wine and looked out the window of her temple across the landscape of the city. It wasn't the largest city, even in this fallen age, but it was hers and she loved it.

She normally stayed away from her temple except on those days the Immaculate Order deigned to grant her for worship. There wasn't a point except to possibly be harassed by obnoxious Dragon-Bloods who thought they were more important than they really were.

The Dragon-Bloods, however, were either partying the night away in their quaint fortress that she could see from her window, or they were off to the south playing soldier with a newly exalted solar. Sorry, anathema.

She snorted at the thought as she continued to stargaze. The Dragon-Bloods of the 'modern' era had never encountered something worthy of that title, however much they liked to toss it about. She gave her glass of wine, though some would argue it was more of an oversized stein with a glass wine stem attached, an inquisitive look. Normally she was more circumspect, even within her own head, about matters like this. Perhaps twelve glasses was enough for the evening.

She drained the last of the glass and made to turn away when a distant fluttering sound reached her ears. It was familiar, and coming from outside. She leaned out the window, and immediately stepped back as a midnight black raven the size of a basset hound flew into the room. It landed in an uncontrolled skid on the marble floor and went spinning along until it hit the far wall of the study.

It shook off the impact and stumbled to its feet looking to her as it did. "Lady Setarial, my apologies for any damage my entrance may have caused." She said with a shaky bow, "I bring grave news from the battle southward."

Setarial sighed and set her wine glass aside. "The scratches can be waxed out Leitleen. What news is so urgent that you nearly ran me over in your haste?" She asked.

Leitleen's response stunned the Goddess. "General Kitano is dead." She said.

Setarial stared at the Raven for a moment before she walked over to her desk and sat down. The raven hopped from the floor onto the corner of the desk. "How?" She asked.

"Four days ago, at the beginning of Calibration he launched an attack on the Vaneha Army just north of the Yanaze, at Kindler's Rock. It was a trap. He launched an attack on the enemy encampment, it was supposed to be a night attack while they were sleeping. The camp was a set up. Only small fragment of the army was there. Once they were fully committed to the assault the Vaneha forces swept in from behind. The one they call Dawn Comes With Thunder was at their head. He found and killed Kitano personally before he could rally his men. He took no prisoners from what I could see…" The raven trailed off with a sad look, her gaze firmly on the desktop.

The Goddess sighed and refrained from running a hand through her hair. "No survivors?" She asked. The Field Force General Kitano had lead south to interdict the Vaneha Army had included six dragons of men, over three thousand soldiers. The Vartabed, Sister Hand, and all but one of her Immaculate Monks had accompanied the army, as had four Magistrates and their retinues.

"A handful of men were running for the hills when I started heading back… I doubt they made it far." Leitleen pronounced.

"Is he headed this way?" Setarial asked.

"I believe so. He wiped out the entire army for only a fraction of his men. His army numbers more than ten thousand at my lowest estimate." She said.

"And he hates the Realm…" Setarial groaned. She knew little about the Dawn Caste Solar who had recently come to power in Vaneha, but his hatred of the Realm was well known even amongst the ordinary people of Greyfalls.

"If rumour is correct." Leitleen responded quietly.

"We knew the army was large, but over ten thousand… How did Kitano not know he was that badly outnumbered?" Setarial asked.

"They were hidden. Kindler's Rock used to be a mining town several hundred years ago. The tunnels are still there. His scouts found the camp, but so few have experience outside of Grefalls." Leitleen gave an approximation of a shrug.

Setarial let her hand fall to the table and sighed. "Well I suppose we had best inform the Satrap. We have a mad power hungry Solar out for blood." She said. She rose gracefully and walked over to the window looking west up the slope of the city.

Several minutes passed as she stood looking out over the city. Her eyes traced the lights of businesses still open even at this late an hour, mainly taverns and inns. This city, her city, was now in more danger than she had realized. "How long?" She finally asked.

"A week, maybe two if we're lucky." Leitleen said.

"We've had good weather up until now, but you know that the snows will begin to fall soon." Setarial said, "If he wants to invest the city, he'll have to push his men."

"Six days, mortal men can't possibly be pushed faster than that and be expected to fight." The raven said.

"He is a Solar. We'll be lucky to have three." Setarial replied, "Come, we need to head up to the-" The Goddess cut off as a bright light flashed far in the distance beyond the city. For an instant a pillar of essence was visible reaching from ground to sky, then it vanished leaving Setarial to blink spots from her vision as the darkness of Calibration returned.

"What was that?" Leitleen asked.

"An uncomfortably large release of essence." The Goddess replied honestly. She leaned out the window as she tried to spot where it had come from. "I haven't seen anything that impressive since that one time I saw a Solar manse detonate."

"A manse detonation?" Leitleen fluttered over to the window and peeked out over her shoulder.

"Not likely. We'd be feeling a shockwave it it was. Especially given the size of the release." A flicker of light in the sky caught her eye. A gold and red comet was falling through the sky, lighting the skyline in a display of essence that Setarial hadn't seen in over a millennia. It fell from the direction of the essence pillar and as she watched it slammed into the roof of the fortress of Garrison Heights. The crash reverberated across the entire city.

"And another thing to add to the ever increasing pile of problems we have…" Leitleen muttered behind her.

Setarial managed to restrain a snort of amusement, but only just. "So it is." She agreed, "Come now, we need to head up and find out what is happening." Her form shimmered and she faded from the world, becoming incorporeal. Behind her she felt her companion do the same as they passed through the wall and out over the city. A few minutes into their travel a similar silver comet fell from the sky to impact another building. Hopefully it meant nothing terrible.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ryouga's first thought as he found himself plummeting to the ground from high above was to wonder why he was tasting the colour blue. The second was to wonder why the hell he was several hundred feet up plummeting to his death. Far below lights flickered. It was a city on hill, and he was falling towards the peak of the hill that is surrounded. It was difficult to spot in the darkness but he managed to make out the shapes of stone walls and towers.

"'Course I'm heading straight for them." He muttered as he tried to slow his fall. Unlike Ranma aerial maneuvers were not something he practiced frequently. So as he tried to gain some control of his fall all he managed to do was send himself into an uncontrollable spin. The fall ended thirty seconds later with him slamming shoulder first into the tiled roof of the mid-sized building off to the side of the courtyard.

The terracotta tiles shattered against his skin as he slammed through the roof. The wooden support beams suffered a similar fate as they buckled and snapped as he slammed into and through them. The flooring of the third floor of the building, fared no better as Ryouga broke through the thin wooden planks and fell to the level below.

Thin the wooden plank might have been, but it was still wood that Ryouga's face smacked into on the second floor. He picked himself up with a groan.

"First that stupid bath, then that weird dream and now this?" He muttered angrily as he got to his knees and looked around. Triple-decker bunkbeds lined both sides. Men could be seen waking up and looking around as they pulled themselves up on straw mattresses. Probably woken up by the noise he'd made falling from the sky. The room itself was lit by a strange silver glow that was coming from…

Huh. He held up one hand. Yeah he was glowing alright. A bright pure silver like a clear full moon. "That's new."

"The hell is going on?" One of the men demanded as he sat up. Others chimed in immediately.

"Where's that glow coming from?"

"Why's there a hole in the ceiling?"

"Why's that guy glowing?" The last question cut through the chatter of waking men.

Ryouga became distinctly aware to the fact that everyone in the room was suddenly looking at him, and the fact that he was definitely naked. He cleared his throat and stood, trying desperately to keep his embarrassment from showing. "Sorry, 'bout that. I'll just be going now."

Any attempt at ducking out of the room was immediately shut down before he could try as the door slammed open with enough force to bounce of the wall. "What the fuck is going on in here?" Shouted the large man who kicked the door open. He was clad in full steel plate with a long blade on his left hip. His eyes rested on Ryouga and he went pale instantly as his hands went for his blade.

"Daana's tits. INTRUDER! SOUND THE ALARM! ANATHEMA IN THE BARRACKS!" He shouted as he drew his weapon.

Curses of alarm sounded from both the soldiers in the room and from the hole above Ryouga. "God damn it." He muttered as the two soldiers nearest him swung out of bed, grabbing their swords as they did. With a cry they both lunged at him.

Ryouga didn't even twitch as the two blades struck him in the chest and stopped dead. He raised and eyebrow as the two men tried valiantly to force the blades through his skin. They stabbed him twice more before he grabbed the two short swords by the blades and bent them into scrap metal with a flick of the wrist.

"You might want to find some better weapons." He advised more calmly than he was feeling before he smacked them both upside the head hard enough to knock them out.

Above him a man screamed as he threw himself off the top of one of the bunkbeds, knife in hand. Ryouga caught the man by the hand before swinging him around to knock back the line of soldiers forming to attack him. Three men were knocked back into beds or comrades as the man struck them.

The room was, fortunately, small with only a thin walkway no more than one and a half men wide between the beds. Except for the hole in the ceiling above him, where he heard more men scrambling for equipment, it was a perfect place for him to fight.

He cracked his knuckles and grinned. This would be fun, for him anyway. He'd just have to make sure not to get too brutal. Broken limbs healed, broken necks… not so much. "You can just let me leave you know." He offered.

"Strike down the Anathema!" Shouted the armoured man loudly, "Poisonous are his words! Deceitful his intentions! Strike him down before he can accomplish whatever nefarious deed he has planned!"

"Nefarious? Really?" Ryouga sighed as he deflected a sword into the nearby bedpost before relieving it's owner of consciousness. "Is this guy taking lessons from Kuno?" He wondered before he stepped forward and delivered a palm strike to the chest of the next man.

The leather jerkin he'd thrown on did nothing to stop the blow from throwing him back through the crowd of soldiers like a battering ram. Men were scattered across the ground and beds. Most of them groaned and lay where they'd landed, while a few struggled to their feet hands still clutching weapons.

Ryouga ignored them as he strode through the semi-clear walkway. The couple that tried to stop him were deal with out of hand, not one of them slowing him down for even a second. The large soldier at the door cursed and ducked out the door, slamming it shut behind him as he fled.

Ryouga paused by the door and glanced back. More than twenty men lay scattered across the room in varying stages of unconsciousness and pain. Not all that different from when he'd entered really.

"You know, when a naked guy falls through the roof and tells you he'll be leaving, maybe you should just let him go next time." He said. The only response was a chorus of groans and a single shaking hand with the middle finger extended. He shrugged. Their loss if they didn't want to take his advice.

He pushed on the door. It creaked as it jerked to a stop after a few inches. "Oh, great they've barricaded it." He muttered before giving the door a solid kick. The door shattered into a thousand splinters as it was ripped off its hinges and blasted back through the table that had been it shut.

In the hallway more than a dozen men ducked behind shields as the spray of wood flew at them. Ryouga looked left, then right. With with sword and shields to his left, more men with sword and shield to his right. Oh, and that large guy in plate armour was off the right as well.

"Prepare yourself men. The beast comes!" He shouted.

Ryouga mouthed the last three words quietly to himself. "What are you talking about?" He finally asked.

"Ready men! CHARGE!" The man continued without even sparing Ryouga's words a second. From both side men charged the few remaining feet, shields up and swords held high. Ryouga sighed. As much as he liked a fight, getting into stupid things like this just got annoying after a while.

Rather than wait for the men to close he stepped into the right hand charge and kicked in the shield of the first soldier like he had the door. His unconscious body crashed into the men behind and sent them tumbling to the ground, fouling the charge of most of the right side. Still the hallway was wide and there were others who weren't sent to the ground.

The martial artist raised a hand as one of the men swung their sword for his head. In one clean motion he caught the hand, snapped the elbow and stole the sword, which was promptly used to deflect another blade, before kicking the wailing man away into the wall. What happened to him next was lost as the wave of men continued to swarm over Ryouga's position.

The next minute devolved into a flurry of blows, blocks and dodges as Ryouga systematically tore a path through the soldiers in the direction of the guy who had set them on him in the first place. By the time the last soldier fell, the large plated soldier had fled further down the hall, his cries of "Anathema! Anathema!" could be heard echoing off the stone walls.

Ryouga sighed and threw down the sword he'd still been holding in one hand. It was too short for his tastes. "Keep running you idiot." He muttered before heading down the hall after him. He wanted out of this place, but busting down walls had proven, in the past, to be a rather foolish idea. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally kill someone by dropping tons of wood and stone on their heads. So he only had one choice, follow the idiot to the exit. After all a man that scared would only head for one place.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Anathema! Anathema!"

Sergeant Ragara Lockler ran. He ran with the speed that only fear could spark. Fear that only an Anathema could put into a good Dragon-fearing man.

"Anathema! Anathema! To arms! Anathema in the Barracks!"

His voice was growing raspy as he continued shouting at the top of his lungs. Still he had to spread the word, let the rest of his dragon know what was in the building with them.

"Anathema! Anathema! Awake! Awake! Anathema in the Barracks!"

He stumbled as he reached the stairs leading down to the first floor. He risked a look over his shoulder. Behind him, still naked as a newborn was the glowing silver apparition that had tore through two full scales of men without slowing down. Fifty men, felled in only a couple minutes by a man with no weapons, and in fact no clothes.

The apparition, the demon for it could be nothing else, casual cast aside the efforts of men as they came pouring out of their bunk rooms dressed for battle. Another scale swarmed out of their room as he watched, only for the monster to scatter them like chaff before the wind. Armour, forged on the Blessed Isle of steel of Jade crumpled beneath his blows. The walls shook as bodies, conscious and not, were slammed mercilessly against them by the blazingly fast, but seemingly casual strikes.

Lockler whimpered quietly and ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. He stumbled at the bottom but continued to run down the main hallway. He needed to let the Dragon Lord's know. He had to get help.

"Anathema! Anathema!" He continued to shout as he thundered down the hall. He full plate clanked and crashed as he ran, making almost as much racket as his own voice. Even has he was running down the hall the doors around him were crashing open as men in full combat dress ran out into the corridor.

"It's up the stairs. Second level!" He shouted. "Its coming this way. Form ranks and hold it back!"

He was, at the moment, the highest ranking soldier on this floor. Malfeas he was the highest ranking soldier in the building at the moment. All the officers were at the closing feast of Calibration and if tradition was followed, even the lowest ranking officers wouldn't be back until first light.

Dust and dirt fell from the ceiling as the building shook from some incredible impact on the floor above. He gulped and redoubled his pace, shoving aside some of the men as he ran for the main door. Just as he exited the hallway into the small, but more spacious than the hallway entrance hall the great jade doors swung open.

Through them strode a tall man in ornate jade armour. Resting on one shoulder was a large black Jade Daiklave. The man's girth was impressive, broader than even Lockler's less than stellar fitness. Yet he held the blade like an ordinary man would a butter knife, as though it weighed nothing at all.

Sergeant Ragara Lockler stumbled to a stop in front of the man. He snapped to attention as best he was able. "Lord Satrap. I was just coming to inform you-" He began.

"Of the presence of another Anathema?" The Dragon-blood cut him off. Behind him five more Dragon-blooded warriors in full regalia marched through the door. They weren't officers of the Legion, probably members of the Thousand Scales, but that fact was of little consequence to Lockler.

"A-another? There's a second one here?" Lockler breathed out, panic showing in his eyes and posture. He stiffened as the Satrap's eyes narrowed.

"Yes another it fell through the ceiling of the dining hall. What can you tell me about this one?" He asked.

The sergeant suppressed the urge to gulp nervously. "Male, with a mark like the full moon on its head. It glows silver." He said.

"How did it enter?"

"Through the roof. It fell to the second floor, tore through an entire room of sleeping men before making its way into the hallway. I barely managed to get down here ahead of it." He said nervously.

The Satrap's eyes narrowed as he looked past the sergeant. "I see… It appears you have the men forming up to defend the stairs." It wasn't a question. "What guarantee do you have that it will come down the stairs?"

Lockler started. "It was right behind me." He began. He was cut off as the Satrap continued.

"And if it has any sense it'll know a trap. Anathema aren't just engines of destruction Sergeant, they are cunning and-" The building rumbled and dust fell from the ceiling. The Satrap looked down the hallway with a frown. His gaze raked over the heads of the soldiers…

'Not the men.' Lockler realized after a second, 'The ceiling.' A second rumble rolled through the building and more dust fell from the ceiling.

"Call the men back Sergeant." The Satrap ordered suddenly.

"Sir?" Lockler looked at his superior with confusion.

"NOW SERGEANT!" He barked.

"Sir!" He turned to the ranks of men in the hallway and shouted, "Fall back! All men fall back to the Entrance. All men Fall back!"

It spoke to the discipline of the men that they reacted without hesitation. Men in the middle stepped to the side, pressing against their comrades, to allow the front ranks to fall back down the middle. Each row stepped one at a time out of formation and streamed down the corridor back to the entrance.

"Get them set up outside the Barracks." The Satrap ordered.

"Sir?" Lockler questioned.

"These close quarters favour the Anathema. If we wish to stop them we must be able to bring our full might to bear on them." He replied.

"Yes sir." Lockler saluted. He turned back to the men, "Once you're outside form a perimeter and prepare to receive-"

The building rumbled and shook and the ceiling mere feet away from him caved in with a hail of stone and wood chips. Not for the first time Lockler was thankful for his full face helmet as wood and rock deflected off it.

As the dust cleared Lockler was able to see the cause standing up over the body of another soldier. The Anathema had at some point managed to find a pair of red trousers to wear. A rather ratty and torn pair, but it was significantly more than being naked.

"I was wondering when you'd stop playing scared boy." The Satrap said as he lifted the daiklave from his shoulder and leveled it at the anathema.

The demon looked at the blade pointed directed at it's head and laughed nervously. "Uh, we can this out, right?" It asked.

Lockler grinned. "Not so invincible once facing one of the Dragon-Blooded Princes of the Earth." He mocked. It was mainly bravado, the courage he was showing, but he'd be damned if he allowed cowardness to show in his actions in front of the Satrap.

The demon gave him a blank look. "What, like those Musk guys?" He asked.

Lockler almost asked him who, before he managed to reign in his tongue. Talking to an Anathema could be exceptionally dangerous. They'd twist your words and thoughts until you'd do things you'd never think yourself capable of.

"Surrender and your death will be swift." The Satrap said as the other Dragon-Blooded surrounded the Anathema. Around them soldier continued to stream past them out the door, though with less organization and more speed as everyone realized the enemy was in their midst.

"I guess that's a no?" The demon responded, "Damn it. I just want to leave you bastard." His last words were a growl.

"And you will leave." The Satrap said as he raised his black blade into a ready position. "You will leave this life and find forgiveness in the next. Perhaps as a snail."

It was definitely a hair raising growl that escaped the anathema at that. "Go to hell." He snarled before lunging.

Lockler just barely missed getting hit by the backswing of the Satrap's sword as he threw himself back away from the conflict. This had escalated to a fight beyond mere mortals. He followed his baser instincts and booked it out of the building. Behind him the building shook as forces beyond mortal means clashed.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ryouga stepped back as the enormous blade the fat man wielded carved the air where his neck had been a moment earlier. He had learned just how sharp the blade was the hard way, as attested by the shallow but long and bleeding cuts across his chest. The fat man everyone seemed to refer to as 'Satrap' was clearly an experienced and skilled warrior, but if he had been alone Ryouga was sure he'd have already crushed him and moved on.

A spear made of a strange green metal came streaking for his head. He sidestepped it and promptly had to dodge another swing from the Satrap. An arrow was batted aside, despite the sharp barbs that had seemingly grown in the milliseconds since it had left the other warrior's bow. It bounced off the stone wall of the entrance hall with a _tink_ that was lost in the sound of blades and spears crushing stone and ripping air with every missed swing.

Ryouga rolled under a pair of strikes from two of the 'Dragon-Blooded' and came up to his feet in time to catch the spear head between his hands. He pushed it to the side and pulled, dragging it's wielder forward. A young woman, pretty, but with a permanent scowl on her face. He grabbed her by the neck of her armour and hurled her, and her spear, into two sword wielders. The three went down in a tangle of limbs. He scowled. No each one of them lacked the speed or strength to challenge him, but they had tricks he'd never seen before, some of which had to be magic, and they worked together flawlessly.

There were six of them. Beyond the spear girl and the two swordsmen there was the Satrap who was always pressing him, an archer who lurked at the far end of the room, and another sword swinging man who hadn't lasted through the first minute before being introduced headfirst to the wall.

As the the spear girl and swordsmen untangled themselves the Satrap backed off, wisely recognizing that without support he was vulnerable. A fact that Ryouga was just as aware of. With a snarl he charged, flowing forward with a grace that Ryouga knew he hadn't possessed even hours earlier.

The Satrap swung his sword to ward off the martial artist. In response Ryouga's ki surged, the power hardening his skin as he stepped into the blow. One raised arm caught the blow on his forearm while he struck the fat man with a blow to the chest with his other closed fist. Metal shattered under his fist as the blow lifted the large from his feet and sent him hurtling out the main entrance.

He spared a glance for his arm as he leaned aside to dodge an arrow. A thin cut ran across the back of his forearm. So he could take a blow if he used more ki. Good to know, if inefficient.

"Bastard." The spear wielding girl growl as she fought her way to her feet. She seemed a bit woozy as she leaned on her spear. "Why won't you just die." It wasn't a question.

Ryouga snorted. "Why won't you let me leave?" He asked. He batted aside another arrow and glared at the archer. That idiot was getting on his nerves. He flicked a stone into his hands with his toe and launched it at the archer. It caught the man between the eyes even as he was trying to evade and sent him to the ground unconscious.

"Why do you think we'd allow something as unvirtuous as yourself free reign in our city beast?" Asked one of the swordsmen as the pair of them managed to stand. They were both in better condition than the spear wielding girl, but that wasn't saying much as both were still swaying on their feet.

Ryouga shook his head and headed for the door. "You can tell me why after you learn to take a hit." He said over his shoulders. They didn't respond, but he heard running feet and leaned forward just in time to duck the blades of the two swordsmen. He reached out as they went passed and grabbed them by the shoulders before slamming their heads together with enough force to send them both to the ground.

He sighed and glanced back at the girl. She was staring at him wide eyed and open mouthed. "Like I said," he said, " learn to take a hit, then get back to me." He stepped over the two insensate warriors and walked out the door, only to stop and stare at what was waiting for him.

Surrounding the entrance of the building were at least five hundred men in full armour, both leather and steel. They were formed in a shield wall just under twenty feet from the door. Interspersed amongst them were another three dozen Dragon-Blooded in full regalia. Kneeling in front of the army the Satrap was being helped to his feet. His armour was broken and his weapon was nowhere to be found. He pointed at Ryouga with one shaking hand.

"Kill him." He ordered.

"OH COME ON!" Ryouga shouted, "JUST LET ME LEAVE!"

"FOR THE REALM!" Shouted the soldiers as the first rank charged.

As the men crossed the open ground a whisper that had been in the back of Ryouga's mind since he had crash landed grew in strength with his frustration and Ryouga _listened_ for the first time. Following instincts that were until that moment as foreign as another world he charged the line of men with a roar.

As he ran his body changed, shifting between steps. Bare skin was covered in black fur, eyes turned yellow, a tail grew and he found himself running on all fours. What had started the charge as a man impacted a suddenly terrified group of men as a midnight black wolf the size of a full grown lion.

A howl leapt from his muzzle as he scattered the first rank of men. This felt right, the urge to hunt, to fight, to win. This body was as much his as the human body he had always had, not like that stupid little piglet Jusenkyo had cursed him with.

He leapt back as Dragon-Bloods surged out of the ranks of soldiers. Their weapons struck the ground fruitlessly as he danced away. He dodged and weaved as easily in this new body as he had as a human. Leaping over swings and under stabs of swords, spears and axes. He bounced off the haft of a massive warhammer and flew over the first few ranks of soldiers to land in the formation of ordinary men.

Screams of fear arose as he batted them aside with tail and paw, in seconds opening a hole in their ranks that none had the courage to try and close. Dozens of men scrambled back. Rapidly a space thirty feet wide formed around him as the men kept their distance. Scared and panicked faces looked over shields that suddenly felt flimsy despite their jade-steel construction.

On all side Dragon-Bloods sauntered out of the ranks of men, surrounding him once more. Preventing his escape. Ryouga let them. He wasn't even trying to get away anymore. If these people wanted to fight him, fine he'd fight them. He'd beat them. He'd prove he was stronger than all of-

The world shook as a golden beam of ki roared through the wall of the large keep across the courtyard. The beam clipped one of the Dragon-Blooded, sending him spinning across the courtyard. He didn't get up. Golden beam continued on plowing through the outer wall of the fortress and out over the open air.

A rough barking laugh found its way out as Ryouga recognized the technique. That was the Moko Takabisha, Ranma's technique. So he wasn't the only one to find himself in this strange place.

Orders were shouted over the crowd by the Satrap, sending dozens of men and more than half the Dragon-Blooded off to the new hole in the keep. Ryouga ignored them. Ranma could handle whatever they could throw at him.

One of the Dragon-Blooded stepped forward, spear held low as he began to circle. Ryouga bared his fangs and matched him step for step. If he wanted to challenge him, then who was he to decline.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Setarial took in the destruction that had filled the drill yard of the fortress with an impassive gaze. Hundreds of men were locked in formation around a great wolf the size of a lion forming a massive circle in which Dragon-Blooded appeared to be trying to kill the beast. The silver glow of the full moon on its forehead and the silver anima banner explained by those efforts appeared to be less than successful. The golden glow flickering out of the hole in the keep's wall also gave a clue as to why the 'beast' wasn't simply being swarmed under with pure numbers.

"A Solar and a Lunar. I thought I recognized those lights." Setarial said to her companion as they rematerialized on the outer wall adjacent to the new hole that had been ripped in it.

"The timing of their arrival… Do you think they are with Dawn Comes With Thunder?" Leitleen asked as she settled on the ramparts.

"I do not know." The elder goddess said as she watched the battle between the Wolf Totem Lunar and the Dragon-Blooded. To the untrained, or inexperienced, eye the Lunar moved with a swiftness and grace that boggled the mind as it ducked and weaved through the strikes of the Dragon-Blooded to send them flying back into the ranks of their mortal soldiers. Setarial, however, was old enough to have seen Lunar's, young and old, fight in battle. To her its movements lacked the fluidity of an ancient lunar. When it moved out of the way of a strike it simply, well, moved. Its body did not flow and twist unnaturally as it used its innate shapeshifting abilities to allow it to perform anatomically impossible actions.

As she watched the Lunar rebounded off the flat side of a daiklave and shifted midair into a well built young man who slammed into a startled Dragonblood's face feet first. Were Greyfalls not under Dragon-Blooded rule she'd have been tempted to take him as a consort, even if only for a night. Still that one moment of transition was enough for her to take his measure.

"I do not believe he serves Thunder." She said to Leitleen, "His movements are too rough, too new. He must have only just Exalted as he fell."

The raven gave her an incredulous look. "No new Lunar could tear through so many Dragon-Blooded in open combat. Even most experienced ones would run rather than fight a fourth as many as are here." She said.

"You forget, most of these Dragon-Blooded are here on vacation or are part of the local bureaucracy under Rumbulac. Dragon-Blooded they may be, but they lack wartime experience." Setarial replied, "Still, to face so many…" She frowned.

This situation was unusual, not just in its suddenness, but also in its timing. The loss of so many soldiers, even temporarily, would make Greyfalls even more vulnerable than even the loss of the main army had done. It took four Dragons to properly man the walls of the outer city. Even with just a few seconds she could already count nearly an entire Dragon as having been hauled from the battle for injuries ranging from broken bones to total loss of consciousness.

A thought, a small traitorous thought that would have, under any other circumstances been quashed, formed in the back of her mind. 'If this is what these two can do, alone and with nothing but their own hands…' Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour, or the sudden danger that now seemed to have found its way into the heart of her city, or maybe it was the more than a dozen steins of wine she had consumed; whatever the cause rather than dismiss the thought she considered it.

After a moment she glanced to Leitleen and said, "Scout the rest of the city. If these two are here there may be others. Return to me if you find them."

The raven nodded spreading her wings. She paused on the stone parapet before turning back to her mistress. "And you, milady? What will you do?" She asked.

The Goddess smiled sadly as she settled down on the wall. "I have some thinking to do Leitleen. I will observe the battle, perhaps it will shed light on my predicament." She said.

"Good luck milady." Leitleen said after a moment before throwing herself into the air over the city.

"And to you my friend." Setarial said to the empty night air as she turned her attention to the raging battle. A battle that may shape her home's future.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma leaned aside as another large blue sword tried to cleave her skull open. Really if her life wasn't in danger she'd be almost bored at how easy the battle had become. The reinforcements that had swarmed the room had, despite a number of them being more heavily equipped than her previous foes, apparently traded skill for raw numbers. Sure the more extravagantly dressed and armed men and women easily outstripped the more ordinary martial artists in Nerima, but that was like saying a bonfire is brighter than a candle when what you're trying to compare them to is the sun.

She stepped inside the swordsman's guard and shattered the armour of his chestplate with a single strike, throwing him away in the process. The men behind him stumbled and she charged into them without mercy. Well, without too much mercy. Despite what she had threatened Lily with earlier none of the current force had a hope in hell of making her escalate to Saffron or even Herb levels of lethality.

As she slid between the lines of men she lashed out not with the intent to kill, but with the intention to disable. Joints were hyperextended, bones were broken, and weapons were snapped or shattered in her hands. In moments the men who had surrounded the swordsman were on the ground, some crying others unconscious from the pain.

She ignored them, as she had done many times in the past with groups that had attempted to beat her into submission. They were cannon fodder, intended to do little more than wear her out while the real threats prepared to attack. Like those two with spears lunging from the surging mass of humanity to either side.

Ranma bounced lightly off the ground and landed on the haft of one of the spears as it passed through her former position. Its wielder, and indeed most of those around her, stared as she stood with picture perfect poise on the thin strand of green metal as those it were solid ground. She smirked at the idiot holding the spear. She loved this little trick, balancing on your enemy's weapon always drew the most incredulous stares that never got old. The very act itself often served to drive home just how outclassed they were.

Before the Dragon-Blood could recover she ran down the length of the spear and rammed her knee into his face. The ornate and decorated helm he was wearing shattered under the blow as he fell backwards to the ground, thoroughly unconscious.

The soldiers around her backed off again as she stepped away from the downed man. Behind her the other Dragon-Blood ran to his comrade's side looking for a pulse. She ignored him as she charged into the lines separating her from the exit. Unlike before there was now a way out of the hall that she could guarantee wouldn't lead to an annoying maze of rooms, traps and gods knew what else these people might have thought up. Maybe they had _cats_?

Ranma barely managed to restrain a shudder at the thought of the small furry demons as she sidestepped a sword thrust and casually flipped the soldier wielding it into his comrades. As they went down they dragged most of Ranma's left flank with them briefly relieving pressure long enough for the martial artist to step into the charge of a Dragon-Blood with a hammer whose head was bigger than Ranma's torso.

She caught the shaft of the handle just behind the head and kicked the owner hard in his chest. He stumbled but refused to let go. That immediately made him more dangerous than the rest of those around in her eyes. With a smile that sent shivers down the spines of everyone who saw it she grabbed the hammer with both hands and pulled. The Dragon-Blood immediately regretted not letting go as she threw both him and his hammer up and over the crowd of men to impact with one of the more intact pillars of the dining hall. It cracked and shuddered as the hammer splintered the stonework on impact.

The throw immediately transitioned into a roll as three ordinary soldiers lunged at her open back, taking advantage of the opening her open back revealed. She sprang up out of the roll and flipped over their heads to land behind them. Before they could turn she swept their feet from under them. Three swift strikes made sure they were all unconscious before the next attempt on her life sent her into another roll as molten steel arrows peppered her position.

She traced the shots back to the hole in the wall. Standing on the fallen brickwork a dashing young man in green stood with a red bow. He leaned casually to the side as her return fire of a stolen legionnaires boot went whirling past.

Ranma scowled as she dodge his return fire of several more burning arrows and was forced to take a shoulder check from a soldier head on. The man, wearing full plate and wielding a shield and axe, bounced off her unmoving frame and hit the floor before she slammed him into the ground with her foot. The move left him unconscious, probably with several broken ribs, and a permanent footprint on his chestplate.

As a couple more archers opened fire from the pile of brickwork Ranma ripped the shield the soldier had been using from his arm. She weighed it and nodded. It would work. She leaned back as one arrow came particularly close to taking her in the eye. As it was a small lock of her hair followed it to the ground. She scowled. He was getting on her nerves.

Three more soldiers lunged at her and she hopped up, using their shields and heads as convenient steps to launch herself into the air. As she flew the now trio of archers tracked her and fired as one. She flicked the shield with a twist of her wrist, sending it spinning through the air where crashed into and through the volley of arrows, sending them falling into the crowd below. The shield continued on without slowing, heading straight for the first archer who threw himself off the pile of brickwork with more than enough time to avoid the improvised projectile.

Rather than fall back into the crowd Ranma landed lightly on the helm of one soldier and started running across the helms and weapons of the crowd. In moments she had cleared the remaining hall, leaving a stupefied crowd of ordinary soldiers behind.

The archers abandoned their position as Ranma crashed down between them. A rock took one in the back of the head, sending him to the ground. The other a rock to the knee with a loud crack of breaking bones. She tumbled down the pile of stonework and lay screaming where she fell. Ranma deliberately ignored her. It was hard, but these people were trying to kill her. She couldn't afford to be gentle.

Standing on the entrance wall she looked out over the courtyard for the first time. Even in the thin torchlight she could make out the shapes of several other buildings inside the wall. Vague and somewhat undefined, but still visible from her position. Of more importance though was fact that there was the sound of battle coming from outside as well. The sounds of an animal of some kind roaring were barely audible of the shouts and screams of wounded men.

From her position she could just see over the crowd of men to what they were fighting, and really it was just her luck she had to show up during some other fight. They probably thought she was- her train of thought ground to a halt as she finally made out what it was the men outside were battling.

In a circle of men, thirty feet wide at least, a large wolf the size of a lion was batting around a handful of Dragon-bloods. That wasn't what cause her mind to grind to a halt. No, what did that was when, between leaping towards a Dragon-blood and actually landing on him the beast's form rippled and flowed into very familiar human shape.

"Ryouga?" She said incredulously. Since when could he _shapeshift_?! "He's been holding out again. Bastard." She muttered with a huff. While he looked like he was handling the men just as easily as she was he could probably use the help… And maybe he could point her in the direction of some clothes since he'd managed to find a pair of pants.

Ranma went to step down the pile of stonework when a whisper of wind, felt rather than heard, brushed the back of her neck. She twisted away, dancing across the broken stonework as she turned to face her most recent attacker.

An older man dressed in ornate full plate with a long thin blade, curved at the end, in a sheath by his waist was standing on the broken stones as easily as she was. "Good reaction time. Certainly better than the last of your kind I put down." He drawled. Both of his hands were on the hilt of the blade.

Ranma pursed her lips as she looked as him. That strike had been quick, not enough to catch her even by surprise, but that combined with the stance he had taken up… "Battojutsu huh." She muttered. Her own stance shifted, to allow her to move more easily.

She glanced back inside the building. Then soldiers had formed a shield wall at the base of the stonework, but they weren't advancing. In the time it took for her to look back the man was already moving, his sword in mid swing heading for her head. She hands lashed out as she flooded them with ki in a desperate parry as she stepped forward into his rush. One hand reached out and caught the gleaming red blade as her other one thrust out for his chest.

The man jerked away as her hand brushed his chest. The jade-steel plate cracked as he stumbled away, letting go of his sword as he slipped on the slope and slid down to the line of men below.

Ranma sighed and dropped the sword, allowing it to fall point first into the stone. "Why do you keep trying to kill me when you know it won't work?" She asked him.

The old man coughed as he held his chest. "You sure about that?" He asked through a wheezing voice.

Before Ranma could respond, or even think about what he had said a wave of heat washed over her. She threw herself off the rubble pile and out of the building, rolling to her feet to stare at the source of the fire.

The weapon she had let fall was a brilliant red before, now it was quite literally on fire. The flames roared, consuming the stone as the sword burned a crater out of the brick and stone before the flames turned on the sword itself in a fiery display until nothing was left by fire. The flames swirled through the air before flowing back to the old man, revitalizing him before her eyes as the sword reappeared in the old man's hand.

He chuckled as he got up, brushing dirt and dust from his pants. "Eternal Reward, red jade daiklave created with the feather of a god of fire and dreams of eternity stolen from the fair folk." He said with a laugh. "Now, why don't we try this again. Try to keep up girl." He shifted his grip on the sword as he sheathed it. Without another word of warning he charged.

"And another magic sword." She shouted, "How many of those stupid things do you people have anyway!"

The old man laughed. "As many as needed." He shouted as he drew the blade, burning with a brilliant blue flame, and swung it long before he was in range. A thin line of fire roared through the air ahead of him, growing with each passing foot.

Ranma cursed and rolled under the wave of fire. She could feel the heat scratching at her back as she did. It was almost a good thing she was naked at that moment, since cloth would have probably caught fire from sheer proximity. As it was she was almost sure she could count on a sunburn from it.

As she rolled to her feet she had to twist to avoid the follow up swing that tried to remove her head from her shoulders. With the blade on fire she couldn't just grab it, nor could she risk it hitting her. She was tough enough it couldn't cut, but the burns would be debilitatingly painful.

He pushed her away from the building into the courtyard step by step, strike after strike. Still he was slow, and she was fast. He couldn't keep her on the defensive for long, not by himself. Even as the men from within the hall came pouring out to form a circular perimeter around her, she launched her counter attack. She ducked a swing and stepped into his guard, grabbing his arm with one hand as she drove her other fist into his side before snapping his forearm with a sharp twist.

He barely managed to strangle a scream as he dropped his sword. This time though Ranma didn't stop there, she continued her assault taking his feet out from under him with a low sweep before catching him with a kick that sent him soaring across the courtyard to crash into a line of running soldiers. Not even a second later the sword once again caught fire, consuming itself and its surroundings to teleport to its master's side restoring his wounds as he struggled to free himself from the tangle of limbs.

"Because of course it works more than once." Ranma cursed. Why was it fire and regeneration always seemed to go hand in hand? First that bird brain in china, now a swordsman in god knows where. She sighed and looked around men locked shields together, trapping in a circle much like Ryouga was in.

Looking over the crowds towards the hole in the wall she spotted a familiar bluenette stumbling out of the rubble with her large friend over one shoulder. Ranma ignored her and turned her attention back to the swordsman. Despite the effects of the sword he was still nursing his side as he entered the circle.

"A good strike girl." He said as he straightened up and slid back into his opening form. "A pity such talent is wasted on one like you."

"What would you know of talent." She said.

He laughed. "I am a master of Single Point Shining into the Void. Now though is not the time for pleasantries." He lunged at her, crossing the distance in a burst of speed unmatched by the other Dragon-blooded. His sword flowed like quicksilver as he crossed the distance and only Ranma's reflexes allowed her to roll under the strike in the space between heartbeats. The swordsman slid past her, stopping a short distance outside the reach of his sword.

His feet dug into the ground and he launched himself into another assault as Ranma regained his feet. His blade, still aflame, appeared to be liquid fire as he swung it with speed beyond anything he'd shown before. To the men around them it appeared to be in two places simultaneously. Ranma however saw the individual strikes, each faster than anything she'd seen displayed by the a Dragon-blood that night, yet to her they were slow ponderous movements. She'd performed strikes far quicker than that the master in front of her was managing.

Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken, also known as the chestnut fist after the method used to practice it. The speed required to pluck roasting chestnuts from an open fire without being burned. A master of it could throw hundreds of punches in the blink of an eye.

Ranma's ki flooded her veins unconsciously as she stepped forward and under the first strike. Ranma had long since mastered the chestnut fist, and she demonstrated it as she reached out and _tapped_ the sword as it came back around for a second attempt on her life. With the sort of force normally reserved for cannonballs the sword was set flying across the clearing, having been ripped from the old man's grip. In the time of a heartbeat the blade had already flashed back into flame and was reappearing in his hand, but it was too late as she delivered a blow to his chest that sent him flying back across the clearing.

She folded her hands behind her back and balanced on the balls of her feet innocently as he picked himself up from his latest brush with death. He rubbed the center of his chest where she had delivered a vicious palm strike that should have powdered most of his ribs. Again it was probably thanks to the sword that he was still moving.

He old man coughed as he rubbed his chest and eyed her warily. "An interesting surprise that. Not nearly showy enough to be a normal Forsaken trick. A martial art technique then?" He asked.

"Well, you showed me yours so I guess it was only fair." Ranma said with a smirk.

"Hah!" The old man's laugh was sharp as he continued to rub the mark on his chest. "girl the one who's shown the most tonight is you. Not sure how you could show more."

Ranma's eye twitched at the pointed reminder that she still lacked anything in the way of clothing. "Well apparently you lot are pathetic enough a butt naked girl is kicking all your asses." She snapped, "Some martial arts master you are. I've met grandmothers who can give me a better fight."

The old man's laugh grew until he started coughing and rubbed his chest once more. "Girl I don't doubt that said old woman taught you that trick." He said as he slid the flaming blade back into its sheath. "Now I doubt you'll give me more than this next shot, so I suppose I'd best stop trying to keep secrets. Witness girl, the true strength of Single Point Shining into the Void."

As he slid into a low stance, his blade held tightly as he stared across the open courtyard. The men around them looked both worried as they watched. Interspersed amongst the soldiers were more Dragon-blooded. Many were nursing wounds from either herself or Ryouga, but she was certain the only thing keeping them from intervening was respect for the man she now stood across from. Well the least she could do was not mock him too badly.

Ranma stopped rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, instead she let her hands fall from behind her back and assumed an actual stance. Hands low and feet spread. The old man gave her a single solemn nod, then he charged. He crossed the distance just like he had the time before, and just like then she dodged it with ease, dancing around his opening strike. It was as he turned back to face her that the difference hit her, almost physically. As he drew his blade a brilliant nova of light erupted from his blade. It leapt from the edge of his blade and proceed his strike, carrying with it the entirety of the old man's spirit and will. It was almost enough to stop her in her tracks.

Almost, but not enough. As the blade cut through the air she shook off the shock of the spiritual attack and rolled beneath the strike with only the barest hint of hesitation. As she came to her feet she caught sight of the old man. His expression was resign, and perhaps just a bit defeated. He knew he had lost even before her counterattack was launched. Three blows caught him in his unguarded side, not one of them was lethal, but all were capable of incapacitating a normal man. For a Dragon-blood it was just enough to send him to the ground unconscious. The flames of his sword flickered and died as he fell.

For a solid ten seconds all was quiet as Ranma bent and checked his pulse. It was weak, but he was alive. Good. She didn't want him dead.

As she rose an angry shout arose from the Dragon-blooded in the crowd. A half dozen men with swords and spears forced their way through the lines of soldiers and charged her. Before they managed more than a dozen feet in her direction a large black shape fell out of the darkness. Ryouga, in the shape of that truly gigantic wolf, crashed into the first two like a freight train, sending them flying. His tail claimed two more as he turned on the last couple of Dragon-blooded in the circle. They backed away, all aggression suddenly having disappeared.

Ranma shook her head. "I could have handled it you idiot." She shouted angrily, "Go back to your fight fur ball."

The wolf scoffed at her as he shifted back into a more human form. "Well I figured after that fight you could use a break." He said mockingly as he wandered over. He stopped as he finally got a good look at her. His eyes raked her naked body up and down. "And you're still naked."

"I've been fighting for my life this whole time, where am I supposed to find clothes!" She snapped as she turned away from him. A blush was trying desperately to form on her face as she looked away. A ruthless application of will forced it down. She was _not_ a blushing schoolgirl and she would not act like one.

"Just take them from someone. That's what I did." Ryouga responded.

Ranma scoffed. "Which explains why you look like you robbed a corpse." She turned back to him, "When the hell did you find the time to change anyway?"

Ryouga shrugged. "There was a moment." He said.

Before Ranma could snark another reply an arrow landed next to them. Then another, and another. Before Ranma could move Ryouga's shape rippled and flowed into that of the wolf once more as he imposed himself between her and the source of the arrows, the nearest outer wall. Several Dragon-bloods were visible on the wall shooting arrows, including the archer from before that Ranma had almost hit with that shield.

"What the hell has gotten into you." Ranma snapped as she ducked low behind Ryouga. He growled and shrugged as the arrows bounced off his fur. "You realize I can understand you about as well as I could when you were P-chan right? How the hell are you doing this anyway?"

The wolf gave her an annoyed look and started turning towards the wall. Ranma sighed and grabbed the fur on his neck bringing him up short. "Hang on I got those idiots." She leveling a hand at the wall, somewhat off to one side. "Moko Takabisha." A brilliant golden beam sprang out of her open palm and lanced through the air, briefly turning night to high noon. Ki blast wasn't aimed at the archers, instead it was aimed at the watchtower just a bit down the wall from them. The beam smashed through the meters of stone and brickwork before continuing off into the space above the city.

The tower tilted precariously then, with speed normally reserved for tortoises and the terminally ill, it collapsed falling in the general direction of the archers. They scrambled out of the way of falling masonry, abandoning the high ground as they ran for safety.

Ryouga's form flowed back into the familiar human form and he stretched. "Well that's one way. Still leaves everyone else." He said gesturing to the hundreds of soldiers that were continuing to give them a wide berth. What Dragon-blooded that remained capable of fighting were hanging back, behind the ranks of soldiers.

"I'd settle for leaving." Ranma replied as she looked out at the literal army that seemed torn between trying to kill them, and cowering at their very presence. "This was not what I thought we'd be doing today."

Ryouga snorted. "Better than listening to genealogy all day long." He said.

"Yes, because dealing with an army is better than listening to my _mother_." Ranma drawled with a raised eyebrow.

"No my mother." Ryouga said with a shrug.

"Thank god for that. The idea of being related to a walking carpet like you is disgusting." She snapped.

Ryouga shot her a dry look. "Walking carpet? That's the best you can do?"

Ranma huffed. So inventing insults for a giant wolf was harder than she'd figured it might be. Still that should have gotten some sorta reaction. Mind you, a wolf was better than a pig so maybe that had to do with it…

A commotion in the lines of their opponents drew their attention. "Looks like the next rounds about to start." Ryouga said, cracking his knuckles.

"Try and keep up." Ranma said mocked.

A familiar large man with a another of those large black swords limped his way out of the ranks of soldiers. He stopped just out in front and tried to stand tall for a moment before wincing and letting himself slouch a moment.

"I" He shouted, "am Nellens Rombulac, Satrap of Greyfalls. I offer you this one chance. Surrender and your deaths will be swift."

The two martial artists exchanged looks and tried desperately not to laugh. An effort Ranma completely failed at as she started howling with laughter. After a minute she managed to get control of herself. "He wants us to surrender, when we're beating them around like tennis balls?" She asked.

"Isn't this the point where he unveils some secret weapon he's been holding back?" Ryouga pointed out, sobering the redhead instantly.

Ranma conceded the point with a nod of her head. "True. Still, I wonder what it might be?" She pondered aloud. "Maybe a cannon?"

"Why a cannon?" Ryouga asked.

"They never use guns on us. It'd be different at least." Ranma said.

"Do they look like they'd have a cannon?" Ryouga waved at the crowd of men.

"I take it you are rejecting my offer Anathema?" The man shouted.

"What do you think?!" Ranma shouted back, waving him off. "Just let us go and this'll be completely painless." She counter offered.

The boy at her side snorted. "Speak for yourself." He said, "I still want to get a few knocks in."

Ranma sent him a dry look. "Just drop it." She said, and sighed when all he did was grumble. Typical really, the guy never could let go of a grudge.

Across the field the Satrap sighed and shook his head. "Very well then, do remember I offered you a way out of this. Send them in!" The last was shouted to the men behind him as he turned and walked back into the crowd.

An opening formed in the line that stretched back into the near darkness of the courtyard. "Somehow I don't think that's for us." Ranma snarked. The ground shook suddenly with a loud thud that echoed through the courtyard. It was repeated a moment later.

"Earthquake?" Ryouga offered.

"Not likely." Ranma responded as the earth continued to shake in time with the thuds. Then, from around the corner of the castle, tall humanoid figures stepped out into view. They were tall, fifteen feet at the shortest, and the metal of their armour reflected reds and blues in the flickering torchlight.

"Oh hell." Ranma muttered, "They've got mecha."

Ryouga shrugged. "Wonder how they work." He said as they giant humanoid suits of armour strode down the corridor opened for them.

"On magic?" Ranma replied glibly. She sighed and shook her head. "They don't look like much. Still, maybe we should run? They can't be that quick."

"Oh? Running already Ranma?" He mocked, a fanged grin spreading across his face. In fact Ranma was sure that he wasn't supposed to have quite that many fangs…

"Hardly, but if you want an out…" She trailed off with an expectant look, like she was expecting him to run screaming for the walls.

"Oh fuck you." He snapped.

"I'd rather not." She quipped, drawing a look from her companion. "Oh look, here they come."

In the time they had spent bickering the two mechas had marched into the expanded circle. Their fists were held up in a vague approximation of martial arts stances. They both looked ready to start the battle.

"And so are others." Ryouga said gesturing vaguely to the crowd. Ranma glanced over and spotted a few Dragon-blooded who were gathering surreptitiously into groups near the edge of the crowds. "Hardly fair," Ryouga grumbled.

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Like you're one to talk." She snarked. More than once she'd been on the receiving end of Ryouga teaming up with others to take her down. Not that they'd ever succeeded without some magic trinket or cheap trick. "They are trying to kill us."

He grumbled a shrugged, vaguely conceding the point. Ranma sighed, so typically stubborn of him, before grinning. "Bet I can bring mine down first." She said, then, without warning, she charged off across the field towards the giant mecha.

"OI!" Ryouga shouted taking off after her. "Cheater! You're supposed to give warning when you do that!" Rich laughter was the only reply he received.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Author's Note: Well damn this chapter just keeps getting longer and longer. I've once again wound up splitting the chapter as it's gotten a bit ridiculous of a length. Conclusion of the first day will be next chapter, in theory. Assuming I don't wind up creating an entire fight involving a Dragon-Blooded swordsmaster who didn't exist in my notes until I needed someone to challenge Ranma and Lily was busy elsewhere... I hope you enjoy it


	3. Chapter 3

Ever groaned as consciousness returned slowly, and painfully, to her. Everything about her hurt, from her legs, to her breasts, hell even her fingernails hurt. As she pushed herself into a sitting position she blearily wondered why exactly she was feeling like she had decided to ask Zaerius to be her Sifu again. That had been a… memorable couple of years to be certain, but one she'd rather not be in the middle of repeating.

She looked around the snowy clearing, lit in blues and purples, in confusion. Where was she and why was there purp- A groan from beside her answered the second question. Rhys pulled himself up and out of the snowbank holding his head.

"My head feels like I just went drinking with Never-Ends-Well again." He groaned.

Ever snorted. "With a name like that I'm surprised you'd do anything with them." She snarked as she continued to look around for clues as to where they were. She looked into the sky, only to be greeted by the absolute emptiness of Calibration. "Rhys…" She prodded him.

"What?" He groaned without removing his head from his hands.

"Where are we?" She asked.

He looked up from his hands and looked around. "I- I don't know? Is the sky empty?" He asked looking up.

"Yeah…"

"But…" He trailed off for a moment, "But wasn't Calibration supposed to be next month?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter Three: Dawn of Broken Fate

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

Nellens Junlein moved quickly, crossing the distance between he and Ryu with lightning speed. His feet barely touching the ground as he raced to close the distance. Ryu's first couple shots went wide, punching holes in the shields of the men form up behind. Both dropped screaming to the ground.

Ryu's third shot went wide as the wind buffeted him hard enough to send the shot whizzing past the monk's arm. Then there was no more time for using the rifle as a rifle. Ryu ducked the first punch and retaliated with a swipe of his bayonet. The monk swayed out of the way and launched a palm strike at his chest.

Ryu deflected the strike with the butt of his rifle and stepped backward, trying to give himself more space to use his weapon. The monk was not willing to let him go as he continued to press the advantage. Ryu deflected another strike towards his torso before shoulder checking the monk, knocking him away. As the monk stumble Ryu swung the rifle like a spear, aiming the bayonet for the monk's neck.

Junlein leaned back as he let the blade streak past millimeters from his neck. He spun away, pulling three daggers from his robes as he did. The blades flew unerringly towards Ryu only to be batted aside as he charged after the monk. He rifle barked twice as he charged the monk, both rounds missing due to the wind once more.

The monk drew another dagger, longer and sharper than the last three, from his robes and met Ryu's charge clashing blade to blade. Ryu felt resistance for only a moment before he pushed through the monk's block, his bayonet cutting a thin bloody path across the torso. As he went for a second strike as the monk stumbled back, a whizzing sound whispered in his ear. He ducked and the three blades from before went whirling overhead. They lost momentum immediately afterwards and bounced quietly off the ground as the wind driving them died down. Still the distraction was enough for the monk to counterattack, driving a strike into Ryu's chest that blasted the air from his lungs.

Reeling from the blow Ryu stumbled away coughing and gasping. He barely managed to avoid the follow up strikes aimed at his head and neck. Despite the difficulty breathing he managed to deflect the knife stab aimed at his stomach with the butt of his rifle before catching the monk across the face with his bayonet. The strike left a trail of blood across his left cheek and served to force him back for a moment during which Ryu managed to finally get his breath back.

"A nasty trick you have there." Ryu said.

"One of many I assure you." The monk replied as he wiped the blood from his cheek. "You will not stand aside?" He asked again.

Ryu shifted his grip on his rifle and set himself into a low stance, his feet planted well apart, between the monk and the young woman behind him. "I can't." He replied simply.

The monk nodded. "Very well. Then you will die." With that simple pronouncement he lunged forward.

Ryu brought his bayonet up, deflecting Junlein's first slash, then his second as the monk attempted to simply overwhelm his defenses. As the soldier deflected the third strike he stepped into the monk's guard, in direct opposition of what he had been doing up until then, and drove the butt of his rifle into his opponent's diaphragm.

Coughing and spluttering Junlein danced away, keeping out of reach of the bayonet aided by the wind that seemed to rage and swirl about him just barely visible in the blue light of his battle aura. Ryu let him go and, leveling his gun, he fired from the hip at the retreating monk. Most of the bullets went wide, deflected either by the wind or simply off target, but one caught the monk along his left leg. He stumbled but remained upright as the magazine clicked empty.

Ryu ejected the magazine and reached for another, backing up as he did. Junlein didn't give him a chance to use it as he launched himself into another attack. The winds, fierce before, doubled in intensity as the monk threw himself forward, faster and from further than before. The blue light surrounding him grew in intensity throwing their surroundings into relief as the monk drove a kick straight into Ryu's arms.

The blow sent the fresh magazine and the rifle skittering out of his hands, each in a separate direction. Ryu ducked the follow up slash and grabbed the monk's weapon hand, twisting it with enough force to cause him to drop the blade.

Ryu snatched the blade from mid air and swept the monk's feet from under him as he attempted to thrust the blade into the back of Junlein's head. The monk pushed off the ground with his free hand and barely avoided the blade, taking a minor laceration on his arm in exchange. He bounded to his feet, twirling away from Ryu's counter attack and launching another wave of a dozen small blades.

As Ryu desperately swung his stolen weapon to deflect those blades he couldn't dodge, which was most of them, the monk held one hand out to the line of soldiers behind him. "Spear!" He shouted and one of the men threw their weapon to him.

Junlein caught the weapon and leveled it at the JGSDF soldier as he finished deflecting the blades that had unerringly, guided by the wind as they were, come around for a second strike. With a shout the monk leapt forward, swinging his borrowed weapon about in a wide sweep aimed at his foe's chest.

Ryu rolled under the strike springing up out of it into a lunge of his own, stolen blade held out in front of him. The monk swayed to the side as he deflected the blade with the haft of his spear. He spun the weapon about and struck out with the butt of it, catching Ryu in mid-air. The blow sent him rolling across the ground where he bounced into a wall.

As Ryu shook off the blow he noticed something poking him in the side. He had landed on his rifle. He slipped another magazine out of his vest and grabbed the rifle. He rolled aside as Junlein's spear passed through the space where his head was. As he rolled to his feet he slammed home the magazine and racked the gun before turning on his enemy once more.

Junlein rolled under the burst of rounds that instead peppered the far wall of a building. Ryu stepped forward and caught the spear under one arm before snapping it with a single blow. As he did that brownish glow from earlier returned as motes of dust began to swirl around him.

Over Junlein's shoulder Ryu could see the young woman waking up, raising her head to look around, eyes wide and confused. Ryu put the sight aside as Junlein launched into a flurry of kicks and open palm strikes that Ryu had to push himself to avoid. He failed to avoid all of them and his rifle was caught clipped by one of the kicks and sent flying once more out of reach. He went for his pistol, only for that to also be knocked out of his hands. The handgun hit the ground and bounced to a stop next to Kodachi, who stared at it with wide eyes.

Ryu caught the next blow with his own hands and pulled Junlein into a kick that threw him off his feet. He rolled as he hit the ground, coming to his feet even as he dodged Ryu's next blow. In doing so he caught sight of Kodachi.

"So the anathema is awake. A pity, I had hoped to grant her the mercy of passing on in her sleep." He said.

That got her attention. She glared at the monk. "What did you call me?" She snarled, trying to stand up. Judging by the wince as she gave up on that she had to be injured from her fall, Ryu decided.

"I suppose I will simply have to settle for being swift with judgement." The monk said as he threw another brace of knives at Ryu and lunged for Kodachi.

Ryu cursed as he ducked and weaved through the spinning blades. This fight would have been over already if he had just used the Yamasenken, but honour demanded that he refrain from using it. As he tried to out maneuver the swirling blades he briefly considered tossing the oath out the window, only to discard the thought as Junlein closed on Kodachi. Even if he did there was no time or opening to-

A series of pops rang out and Junlein stumbled, falling to his knees. Patches of blood could be seen forming on both his front and back before he slowly toppled to the side. The winds died and the knives clattered to the ground as the power that guided them died with the monk.

From an alleyway a half dozen men in JGSDF uniforms came running out into the roadway. Ryu sighed with relief as he scooped his rifle from the ground and walked over to Kodachi. He picked the handgun up and holstered it.

"Are you alright Miss Kuno?" He asked.

She looked up at him, then down again at the body before visibly shaking herself. "I- Yes I am." She said shakily. She made to stand and immediately fell back to the ground with a pained gasp. "Though, I don't think I can stand." She confessed.

"Sir." One of the soldiers said, interrupting them. Before Ryu could try and place the man's face he continued, "Sergeant First Class Ito Itsuki, 3rd Company 1st Platoon. Akiyama asked us to come and assist you since we were closer."

"And thank you sergeant." Ryu said as he looked around. The other five soldiers had formed a firing line between them and the fifty or so soldiers in armour that appeared to be varying states of shock. "That monk was difficult to handle. Do you have any more soldiers with you?"

"None here. I appeared in a market square two streets over. I left most of my men there to secure the equipment that came with us." He said.

"Not portable?" Ryu asked.

"Hundred and five millimeter artillery isn't exactly man portable sir." Itsuki replied with a shrug.

Ryu sighed heavily. "No I don't suppose it is."

A commotion in the enemy ranks drew his attention. A man wearing plate armour heavier and more ornate than the rank and file stepped out in front and glared at Ryu before turning back to his men. "MEN! More Dogs of the Anathema appear before us! Avenge Lord Nellens!" He leveled his sword on the JGSDF troops. "KILL THEM ALL!" A roar went up as the local soldiers leveled spears and charged.

Ryu cursed. "Someone carry Miss Kuno, we're falling back up the street." He ordered as the JGSDF soldiers opened fire around him. Men in the front rank dropped quickly, only for the second rank to step over their bodies as they advanced, shields held up. Some men died, but the combination of Jade-steel shield and heavy jade-steel plate armour provided enough protection that they continued to push forward heedless of the firepower pouring down on them.

"Coporal Tatsu, you're up." Ito shouted as he snapped shots down range.

A mousy haired young man dropped out of the firing line and dropped to a knee beside Kodachi. "Anything broken?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing, it just hurts." She said.

"Then my apologies, but this is going to hurt as well." He said before picking her up a putting her over one shoulder. To her credit she only whimpered a little bit as she was handled. "Ready to go sergeant."

"Squad, fall back." Sergeant Ito shouted. As one the soldiers started backing up the hill, continuing to fire down at the advancing soldiers. By this point the gap between the two groups had been closed to less than half the distance most of the Realm legionnaires were still alive and advancing at a good clip.

"Sergeant, we're going to need more distance." Ryu said as he managed to drop a legionnaire. The man fell, a hole in both his shield and through his left eye. Another legionnaire stepped up to take his place.

"Squad, doubletime up this hill to the next intersection." Ito shouted, abandoning his efforts and sprinting up the incline. The rest of the squad turned and followed at a full sprint, even Corporal Tatsu burdened as he was by Kodachi.

The legionnaires behind them cheered and, abandoning all pretense of a formation, doubled their own speed intent on pursuing them. The thunder of steel on stone chased the JGSDF soldiers up the hill, biting at their heels with every step. As they were unburdened by heavy armour the Japanese soldiers managed to cross the hundred or so meters to the next major intersection without issue. The intersection was flat cobbled stone, and also occupied by a dozen legionnaires.

"Intruders! Ki-" The lead legionnaire died with a bullet through his eye from the sergeant. The rest of his comrades fell immediately thereafter.

Ryu ignored them as he turned and looked down the hill. The incline wasn't particularly steep, but it was an incline and the legionnaires chasing them were wearing heavy plate. The gap between the two groups had opened, surprising so in fact.

Ito stepped up next to him. "Orders sir?" He asked.

Ryu gave the intersection a brief look. A tea house with lanterns still lit sat in the north-east corner of the four-way intersection. It had wide open windows and looked reasonably sturdy. "Into the tea house. We'll hold until Akiyama gets here with reinforcements." He said.

"Yes sir." Ito said before turning to the men. "Into the Tea house boys! We're holding here." Two men ran up and threw the rice paper door open before charging in. Ryu turned away as the squad cleared the building and looked down the hill once more. The legionnaires were still more than sixty meters behind, how had they all managed to cross the distance so quickly? He could have, but he was a properly trained martial artist with years of experience, even if most of his repertoire was sealed away.

"Sir!" Ito shouted from the tea house. Ryu turned away from the slope and double timed it over to the building. Stepping inside he wasn't surprised that it was lit with paper lanterns like those that hung outside.

"Any complications?" He asked as he took up a position by the door with the sergeant. Most of the other soldiers had taken positions at the windows.

"Two civilians, a mother and daughter. They live upstairs. I've tasked Corporal Tatsu with keeping an eye on them while he tends to miss Kuno." Ito said.

"Good. What's our ammunition looking like?" The 2nd Lieutenant asked as he checked his own munitions.

"We swapped out the training rounds before we came to help. We're all near full load." The Sergeant replied, "Sir, can I ask what we intervened with earlier? Akiyama said you were investigating something that crashed in the street and asked that we make sure you weren't getting in over your head."

Ryu sighed. "That girl, Kuno Kodachi, crashed into the street. You saw the golden light coming off her?" He asked.

"Hard not to really." The sergeant shrugged.

"The moment that monk saw her he declared that she was a demon and had to die." At the sergeants confusion he elaborated, "Something about possession."

The sergeant frowned. "Sir, I've read the reports if she is Kuno Kodachi than-"

"They're here! Enemy sighted cresting the hill." Tatsu shouted from the window above them.

"We'll talk about this later Sergeant, when we're not about to die." Ryu said raising his own rifle and sighting across the street. The sergeant clammed up, but Ryu could tell he wasn't happy.

The legionnaires that crested the hill were tired and their line was less organized than before. They were undoubtedly tired from running uphill. Still they were wearing that heavy plate armour and carrying their shields before them.

"Pick your targets, aim for where the armour is weak. The head, joints, anywhere but the torso." Ito shouted as he followed through with his own orders and put a single round through the head of a tired Legionnaire.

The rest of the squad followed suit as the rest of the enemy platoon crested the hill. It took them a moment to figure out where the fire was coming from, during which nearly a third of the remaining legionnaires died. The commander took a round to his neck just as he came into view. He went down with a spray of blood and the men around him took a step back. The charge stopped and reversed as the few survivors huddle beneath their shields and slowly inched back down the street.

"Hold fire!" Ryu ordered.

"CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!" Ito shouted as he lowered his weapon.

"Let them go." Ryu said as the remaining half dozen legionnaires ducked back down the street.

The sergeant sighed next to him and sat down against the wall. "So, about Kuno." He started.

Ryu held up one hand. "We don't know why Junlein claimed what he did. He could be propaganda, superstition, or any number of other things. Until we know more we do our duty." He said.

"Who the hell is Junlein?" Ito asked.

"The Monk. He told me his name before he tried to kill me." Ryu said.

The sergeant gave him a blank look. From behind them one of the other soldiers chimed in. "Seems like a dumb thing to do. Why the hell would he do that?"

"Never dealt with martial artists before have you?" Ryu asked, to which the man shrugged.

"I'm from Sasebo. We don't have the crazy kung fu karate type down there." He said.

"Stuff it Tanaka." Ito said as he stood up. "In case you're not aware the 2nd Lieutenant here is one of those 'crazy kung fu karate' types. Unless you want to get punched into next week I suggest to be quiet and take Mura to secure the perimeter."

"But-"

"And by suggest, I mean get moving." Ito glared at the offending soldier.

"Sir, yes sir." Tanaka said and stepped out, waving another soldier to join him.

"You know I wasn't going to punch him into next week over a simple question right?" Ryu asked as he dusted himself off and checked his ammunition.

"With Tanaka it always starts with a single question. Then it gets personal cause the boy can't handle the response. Even a benign one." Ito said as he took a seat in at one of the tables. He unhooked his radio and tossed it to Ryu. "Better call Akiyama and let him know what we ran into."

Ryu looked at the radio and raised an eyebrow. "I already have one of my own you know that right?" He asked.

"You sure about that?" Ito gestured to Ryu's chest.

The Lieutenant looked down and stared. One of Junlein's throwing knives was jammed sideways through the plastic casing of his radio. "When did that- Fuck I didn't even notice." He muttered as he unclipped the broken radio and tossed it and the knife onto the table.

"You going to give him a call?" Ito prodded.

"LAV ON THE ROAD!" Tanaka shouted from outside, "LOOKS LIKE ONE OF OURS!"

"Looks like I don't have to." Ryu said and tossed the radio back to the sergeant. Privately he was thankful for Akiyama's timing. He hadn't noticed the blade hit his radio, nor had he even considered calling and informing the Sergeant about the opposition he'd run into. If the older man hadn't managed to find some aid for him, he'd probably be fine, but Kodachi would have been dead for sure.

He sighed as he stepped out into the street. The Komatsu LAV came squealing to a stop outside the tea house and immediately the doors flew open as JGSDF soldiers stepped out onto the cobbled road.

First out of the left-hand rear door was a short broad man in his mid fifties. His hair was more grey than white and a web like pattern of scars decorated the side of his face. "Lieutenant, good to see you're alright." He said as he stepped down. "I was worried."

"Took a dagger to the radio." Ryu said with a shrug, "Good job on sending Ito and his squad my way. Things would have gone a lot worse if you hadn't."

"Next time you find yourself in a strange land," Akiyama said as he walked over, "Remember to broadcast on more than just the platoon channel."

Ryu felt a blush forming on his face. "I'll try." He said with a cough, "Where's the rest of the men?" He asked.

Akiyama gestured down the road where he'd come from. "Ran into a platoon's worth of the local troops. They didn't take too kindly to us running about their city. I came ahead when i couldn't raise you. They shouldn't be too long." He looked up at the fortress on the hill. Lights in most of the colours of the rainbow could be seen flickering over the walls. "Still planning on heading up there Sir?"

Ryu followed his gaze and nodded. "I am. Come inside, we need to talk, and plan. I want to head up the moment your men get here." He said as he headed back in. "How many men do we have?"

"In contact? I'm getting reports from at least five separate groups beyond mine and Ito's." The Sergeant said as he followed Ryu inside. "Two outside the walls, three more in the lower levels of the city. Not everyone in those groups are JSDF though. We're looking at nearly a hundred and seventy-five people all totaled, but we'll be lucky if half of them are SDF." He slid the rice paper door shut behind him with a solid thunk.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ryouga rolled under the fist of the blue metal giant and bounced into the air, flipping over the sweep of a spear from a Dragon-blood as he did so. He landed and dropped to one knee as he caught the overhead swing of another giant blade between his palms. There was a whisper of wind just behind him and he pulled the blade, as best he could, past him as he twisted to avoid the spear strike.

The swordsman was dragged along with his blade, stumbling into the path of the spearman. The two tumbled to the ground as Ryouga rolled away, barely avoiding the descending foot of the giant mecha. He poked a spot in the ground near the foot as he went by. With an echoing _boom_ the ground exploded, a large crater forming beneath the mech's foot.

Ryouga jumped back as the mech stumbled and barely caught itself before it fell flat. The head of the mech turned to look at Ryouga and he had the distinct impression that whoever, or whatever, was behind the mask was glaring at him. He flipped them the bird before ducking under a punch from a khatar wielding Dragon-blood. He grabbed their arm, flipped them over his shoulder to the ground, and twisted their arm, breaking the bone and pulling it out of the socket.

He jumped back as the mech's hand soared through where his head and chest would have been. The mech stumbled back to its feet and drew itself up to its full height, wisps of blue light dancing across its form. Then, it clapped, great hands of blue jade coming together in a explosion of sound, essence, and cold northern winds.

Ryouga braced himself just as the winds hit and he was almost sent flying. A layer of frost flash froze into existence across every surface facing the Jade giant. Ryouga shrugged off the ice with little effort and looked down at the Dragon-blood at his feet. The man was struggling, pinned beneath the layer of ice without the ability to breath. He reached down, grabbed the man by his shoulder, easily breaking the ice, and hurled him from the battlefield.

The world was suddenly lit in the flickering lights of fire as a wave of heat rolled over the courtyard, originating from behind Ryouga. He heard Ranma yelp and curse loudly, but restrained the urge to see what had happened. If Ranma was still in good enough shape to curse that loudly then it couldn't have been anything important. Instead he kept his eyes on the large mech that was trying to crush him beneath its jade boot.

The giant lunged at him, throwing a slow and wild jab that Ryouga could see telegraphed from the moment it started moving. He jumped as it came down on him and landed on the back of the wrist as it cratered the earth. The metal was cold, unnaturally so. As he ran up the arm of the giant he could feel the skin on the bottoms of his feet try to freeze to the metal with every step.

As the giant pulled back and tried to swat at him with it's other hand he leapt off the arm straight at its chest. The punch he delivered sent the jade ringing from the force as it was knocked off balance. It stumbled, arms windmilling wildly as it tried to regain its footing. Ryouga landed at its feet and leapt back up to punch it again.

The second blow finished what the first started the the armoured giant tumbled to the ground with earth shattering force. Yet after a moment of lying there it pushed itself up and started climbing to its feet, rattled, but unharmed. Unharmed did not, however, mean unmarked. A small dent barely visible on the front of the plate could be seen by those with a keen eye.

"Ryouga!" Ranma shouted from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder at his redhaired rival. She was dancing around the wild swings of the red giant. "This guy's too hot to touch." Sure enough Ryouga could see acrid smoke billowing around the mech with every stride it took.

"This guy's almost too cold." He shouted back.

"That guy's ice?" Ranma asked as she rolled under a two handed swing.

"Yeah. Why?" He asked.

Ranma backflipped over a low sweep of the red giant's arm and continued the movement into several more flips that took her to standing next to Ryouga. "I've got an idea, but you're not going to want to be here when I do it." She said seriously.

It only took Ryouga a moment to figure out what she was thinking. Fire and ice. Hot and cold. "Hiryu Shoten Ha?" He asked quietly.

"Yup. Get moving." She said before rolling out of the way as the burning giant slammed a fist into her position. Ryouga jumped away as a chunk of gravel, torn from the ground and held together by a coating of ice, bounced through where is torso would have been. He needed to find a way to disengage with the fight, without dragging one of the mechs with him. Before he could start planning Ranma succeeded in focusing all attention on herself.

Twin flickers of golden light flashed out from Ranma as she blasted both mechs off their feet. Ryouga took advantage of the distraction to turn and run. Normally he would have stayed, fleeing a fight was anathema to him. Normal did not include conjuring tornadoes. So he ran, his form shifted between steps as he tried to put as much distance between him and the soon to be natural disaster.

As he approached the lines of Legionnaires he could see the men balk even as they slammed their shields into place before them and levelled spears to ward him off. They needn't have bothered as Ryouga leapt into the air and soared over the lines of men.

"GO AFTER HIM!" Shouted one of the Dragon-blooded officers. Twenty men broke away from the cordon and tried to pursue. Ryouga left them behind without trying as he weaved through archer fire and past groups of wounded soldiers. As he neared the barracks he narrowly ducked under the swing of a blue-haired swordswoman before bounding off the side of the barracks building in a jump the lead him to the roof of the fortress. There he settled down, just out of sight, to wait for the fallout of Ranma's latest hairbrained scheme. He didn't have to wait long.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Lily stared up at the silver-glowing black wolf as it ducked behind the parapet of the fortress roof. Something about the beast's behaviour bothered her. In the short time she'd seen it it had show all the signs of enjoying the thrill of being challenged in battle. By Malfeas he'd been winning against the blue jade warstrider and its escort quite handily, as attested by the large dent in the front plate. So why, why, had he simply taken off like the hounds of Malfeas were on his tail?

Beside her, lying the folded wreck of a cloak, Zeriah groaned. Lily looked away from the beast; if it intended to attack then, as had been demonstrated repeatedly, there was little she could do to stop it; and looked back to her companion and mentor. She stabbed her daiklave into the ground next to him and dropped to her knees.

The older man coughed and, with a groan, opened his eyes. He blinked. "Lily?" He said.

"Zeriah, you're alright." She said with relief.

"My everything feels like I lost a fight with a blood ape, but I'm awake aren't I?" He grumbled as he tried to stand up. He groaned and lay back down. The sounds of battle drew his attention and he craned his neck to get a look at the ongoing battle. "It's still going on? How long have I been out?" He asked, "And are things so desperate that the Satrap ordered those things deployed?"

Lily smiled brittley. "I doubt it's been more than a half hour Zeriah. And yes he ordered them brought forward."

"Kitano will be quite angry about that when he gets back." The earth aspect said with a pained chuckle.

"If we're still here." Lily reprimanded her mentor.

Zeriah raised an eyebrow. "Did she bring so many troops into the fortress we can't handle them?" He asked.

"Not troops. There's another anathema, one of the moon. We've scarcely been able to touch him, and not even Master Silver managed to land a strike on that girl." She said quietly. "I-What do we do Zeriah?" It had been a long time, decades really, since she had felt this lost.

The look her mentor sent her way did nothing to help her confidence. "There are four dragons of the legion, and dozens of dynasts, dragon-blooded and otherwise…" He wheezed before once again trying it sit up. He managed it, but Lily could see the effort it had taken. "That girl knows how to fight." He grumbled.

"And you should know better than to strain injuries so fresh." Lily snapped before a gust of wind buffeted them. "The wind is picking up now as well it seems."

"Not the wind." Zeriah gritted out, his eyes tracking something that Lily couldn't see. "Not natural wind. Look at the way the leaves are swirling towards the battle." Now that it was pointed out Lily could see it, leaves, dust, and bits of cloth were swirling slowly through the air as the winds picked up. The air itself felt heavy, just as it was before a storm.

A horrible dread sank to the bottom of the magistrate's stomach like a heavy lead weight. She glanced towards the parapet of the fortress where the Lunar's eyes could be seen glowing yellow in the darkness of calibration. He had run away and there was something strange with the wind. With certainty Lily knew that the two events were connected.

"She's luring them into a trap." She told Zeriah before acting immediately.

She grasped the winds with her essence, a feat that took more effort than normal, and shaped it as she said, "To Nellens Rombulac, pull the men back, NOW! The Forsaken is luring the men into a trap!" With the message shaped she sent it out. From the way the Satrap jerked a moment later on the far side of the she could tell that he had received the message.

She sighed before reaching out to her mentor. "Come on, we need to get you out of here." She said as the Satrap began shouting.

"PULL THE MEN BACK! GET AWAY FROM THE FORSAKEN!" He shouted, though his voice was barely audible over the sounds of battle.

Lily ignored him as she pulled Zeriah onto his feet. A pained groan escaped his lips through a grimace as she did so. "We need to get some distance, or some cover." She said. Behind them the Legionnaires began to break their formation, falling back from the battle. Despite the shouted orders to retreat however the Warstriders continued their assault as the redhead danced nimbly through their strikes.

"Agreed. The barracks door is just-" Her mentor was cut off by a loud _whump_ behind them. The wind, previously mild, surged. They both stumbled as the wind clawed at them, pulling and tugging them back towards the battle.

Lily couldn't stop herself from looking back. She stared, entrapped by a horrific combination of fear and awe at what she saw.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"The Lunar ran..." Setarial murmured as she watched the battle unfold. The wolf totem lunar hadn't gone far, he was easily visible to her, hiding as he was behind the fortress parapet. "Why did he run?" She wondered. There had been a conversation, muffled even to her ears, between the two Celestial Exalted before he had abandoned the battle. Obviously there was a plan, but what did they intend?

The redheaded Dawn caste had managed to draw, and keep, the attention of the two Warstriders and their meager escort with a truly blistering barrage of insults and taunts. She questioned their bravery, honour, ancestry and even their skill. Implications of impotence were rained from on high with almost disturbing glee as the redhead ducked and weaved through the strikes of her foes.

Truthfully Setarial was impressed by the sheer variety and creativity of the Solar's repertoire of insults. She was substantially less impressed by the fact that she was being pushed back. Whatever her plan was it seemed to be backfiring quite horrifically as she was forced back in an ever decreasing spiral. Eventually she would have no room to maneuver and be crushed by the warstriders.

She sighed. It looked like she would have to rely on whatever remained of the garrison after this was over. She glanced back up to the Lunar. "Perhaps he's waiting for her to die before he leaves?" She wondered. It wouldn't be the first time she had seen a Lunar linger when they should have fled. Especially if there was a bond of some sort involved. Rival, friend, lover perhaps.

As she allowed her mind to wander from the battle she caught sight of a swirling piece of cloth. Her eyes tracked it idly as she tried to figure out how, exactly, she was going to manage to protect Greyfalls with more than half of its remaining garrison out of action. The cloth swirled through the air above the courtyard, dancing in the slowly rising winds. Winds which hadn't existed just over a minute earlier.

Setarial blinked. The wind was growing stronger, sending cloth, dust and leaves swirling around the courtyard; and it pulled at even her incorporeal form. Which should have been impossible. Using the debris it was carrying, the goddess tracked the winds following them as they spiralled around the courtyard in an ever shrinking spiral. Just like the Dawn who was even then dancing around her opponents in an identical ever shrinking spiral.

For the first time since the pace of the battle had seemingly shifted Setarial _looked_ at the redhead. For all of her boisterous taunting and seemingly desperate dodging, her expression was serene, cold even. Like the tundra of the far north, peaceful and deceptively dangerous.

"Oh." The goddess whispered. There was a plan, a scheme of some kind. What it was though… What was she planning? It wasn't sorcery, and it definitely wasn't some innate Solar ability. It was too elemental, too raw in form.

The Dawn stepped around a punch of the red jade warstrider, and into the center of the imperceptible spiral. As the other warstrider lunged forward, striking in sync with the Dragon-Blooded around them. The Dawn smiled. It was cold, glacial in its shape and as empty of remorse or sympathy as the Fae themselves. Setarial shivered imperceptibly.

The Dawn threw a single punch, straight up into the sky. To the warstrider operators and the surrounding Dragon-Blooded it must have appeared desperate, the last vague attempt at fending off the inevitable. To Setarial it was the signature on the bottom of a document ordering the deaths of everyone involved.

Three words drifted across the courtyard to the Goddess's ears. "Hiryu Shoten Ha."

It took less time than an eye needed to blink for the winds to surge beyond the ability of even the warstriders to fight. A tornado had been conjured; not with sorcery, or the skills of a powerful Dragon-Blood, nor with the mystic might of an elemental Dragon of air; but with the raw martial skill of a single young woman.

Setarial saw more than just winds clawing at the warstriders and Dragon-Blooded as they were hauled into the air. Ethereal forms, twisting snake-like through the whirlwind, were invisible to mere mortals as they swam through the conjured storm. They clawed and pulled at those the winds touched, lifting them from the ground with supernatural force and dragging them into the swirling maelstrom of elemental power.

She brushed aside several spirits as they tried to pull her into the funnel. This was something she had never seen before. Through sheer martial might the Dawn caste had managed to forge a cauldron of elemental energies that was pulling on all sources of essence that lingered to fuel the lesser elementals it was spawning. With how much essence had been loosed through the desperate Dragon-Bloods attempts to stop her it was hardly surprising that the storm that was wrought had enough supernatural strength to simply pluck entire warstriders into the air.

She could see them as they tumbled around the vortex nearly a mile above the courtyard. Lesser elementals clawed at the armoured plates, throwing their bodies heedlessly at the jade behemoths in an effort to get at the Dragon-Blooded pilots. With every second of exposure to the relentless assault Jade bent and deformed further and further. It was only a matter of time before they breached the armour.

As for those poor unfortunates caught inside the tornado without protection. Elementals clawed and strangled those caught within, wrapping long sinuous bodies around the struggling Exalted and what few mortals were within. Their efforts left no visible mark, but with every second their victims struggles grew weaker and the the storm around them stronger.

At the heart of it all, in the eye of the storm, knelt the Dawn Caste. Her face coldly serene as she seemingly meditated, her eyes closed. The wind hardly ruffled her long braid and the elementals gave her a wide berth. Those who ventured too close withered and froze before dissipating into the storm.

It took a force of will to yank her gaze away from the maelstrom that had been born with such horrific suddenness. What discipline had existed amongst the Legionnaires had long since disintegrated with men running away from the tornado as fast as they could. The vast majority of them made it, the strength of the winds dropped quickly, with them losing the ability to pluck people from the ground after a mere twenty feet.

"A trap, fuelled by their own power." She said aloud. She had seen traps like it before, but they were always the work of some form of sorcery or artifice. "Perhaps…" Her lips twitched upwards in a small smile. Perhaps there was still a chance for her city after all.

"What in- Milady!" Setarial flinched as a voice shouted loudly from beside her. She whirled to face it, and sighed as she recognized Leitleen, the raven sitting on the parapet of the wall as she stared at the essence fueled tornado.

"Leitleen. You have found others I take it?" The Goddess asked.

"I-Yes." Leitleen shook herself, "Milady what is this? Is that Solar a Sorcerer?"

"I do not think so. The method used is too different from sorcery." Setarial said, looking once more at the funnel. Her eyes fell onto the warstriders. Their Jade plates had finally given way under the vicious assault of the wind spirits. Even as she watched a serpentine form slid it's way through a gap in the armour that should have been too small for it. She winced. "I suspect a martial arts technique." She said.

The Goddess turned back to her companion. "Now, others?" She asked again.

The Raven struggled to pull her attention from the strangely stationary tornado. "I-yes others. Several groups of soldiers in strange uniforms have been fighting the Dragon that was responsible for tonights patrols. Based on the flaring of anima banners as they fight there's at least a dozen Dragon-Blooded amongst their number." She said.

"Dragon-Blooded? Strange… Do you believe they are related to the Solar and Lunar in any way?" Setarial asked.

"I.. Possibly Milady… Are you sure this is safe?" Leitleen asked gesturing with one wing towards the swirling mass of wind and elementals.

Setarial watched the winds quietly for a moment. The force that was buffeting them was weaker than it had been moments before, and she could feel it dropping off. Those trapped inside the maelstrom had been released by the elementals, which were sedately allowing the winds to carry them skyward.

"I believe it's dying out." She said confidently. "Now, these Dragon-Blooded?"

Leitleen took a shaky breath, gave the tornado one last look and said, "There was a Solar under their protection. A young woman..."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Raw elemental power. The Dragon-Blooded commanded the elements with their every action. Fire lent their words passion, wind let them communicate across vast distances, wood let them heal those who should have been beyond aid; and yet…

Lily had never seen a tornado before. The Blessed Isle so rarely had storms, and those that occurred were mild and over quickly after having left ideal amounts of rain behind them. This was no gentle storm, no light pattering of rain. This was the power of air unleashed in a way she had never been witness to.

"By Mela. What in the-" Zeriah seemed as speechless as herself as they watched the warstriders, vast and mighty as they were, be lifted by naught but wind high into the sky.

Wind buffetted them, nearly bowling both of them over. It was enough to break Lily's gaze. "We need to move. Come on!" She told her mentor and together they managed to fight through the winds that were trying to drag them into the funnel. Screams could be heard as men, Dragon-Blooded and mortal alike, were hauled from the ground into the sky. They succeeded in avoiding the same fate as they ducked into through the open barracks doorway, the two great doors creaked on their hinges as the wind clawed and pulled at them.

Once inside they sat down, backs against the wall. They were breathing hard and Zeriah seemed to be barely able to retain his consciousness.

"Hey, stay with me." Lily said, gently shaking him as his eyes closed.

"Just-just give me a moment." Zeriah said through heavy breaths. "That is… I never imagined that such a young girl could… Conjure something like that."

"Neither did I." Lily said quietly. Both of them fell silent, only the howl of the wind and the screams of the unfortunate men was left. Lily flinched every time she heard a scream. She jumped as a jade dire lance was blown through the doorway. It embedded itself in the floor with enough force to skewer a Legionnaire, plate armour and all.

It was not just men that the wind plucked away to wield as a weapon. Swords, spears, any weapon or piece of armour left lying around from the battle could be plucked from the ground to become a flying weapon.

It left Lily feeling sick. This battle… no this was no battle. A battle included the chance for victory. This was a slaughter. The only reason it had taken her this long to realize it was the simple lack of blood. Their enemies were either compassionate enough to refuse to take a life, of sadistic monsters that enjoyed the suffering they left behind. She knew which the Immaculate Monks would argue if she asked one…

In her mind she once again recalled what the small redhead had only a short time before, " _I don't like fighting to kill." She said quietly, "but if you keep trying to kill me, I won't have a choice."_

"Choice…" Lily whispered.

"Hmm?" Zeriah mumbled.

"I… Just a thought Zeriah." She said. Choice. According to the Forsaken she, if she had a choice, would prefer to not kill. Yet she was willing to if pushed… She had warned them, and they had… What? Scorned her? No, not scorn. They had simply declared themselves judge and executioner.

Had it been her, surrounded by so many foes, would she have been willing to spare their lives despite knowing they would try and seek her death? Lily knew the answer. If she had been faced with the same odds her choice would have been different, had been different in the past.

A sword, made of steel, skittered through the doorway. Lily spared it a glance before turning her musings to the winds. The noises had died down. Were dying down even as she listened.

She stood and walked to the door. Looking out she was in time to see the two warstriders fall from the sky. They landed with twin crashes, their plates warped, bent and broken. Limbs were twisted unnaturally and their ornate decorated helms shattered.

The ground, already mostly devoid of grass, had been scoured of all signs of plant life in over a hundred feet. In the center, where the tornado had originated, sat the girl. Her hair still bound in its braid with nary a scratch to be seen on her from so far out. Above her the dragon of her anima banner roared its victory to the heavens in complete silence. Around her swords, spears and other weapons fell to earth, burying themselves point first in the wind-blasted soil around her.

A shudder rolled down Lily's spine. This was… The strength and skill required to perform such a feat was mind boggling.

In the center of the broken piles of weapons, armour, and warstriders she could see Ranma open her eyes and stand up. She didn't even look tired as she took in the battlefield.

"Dragons damned monster." Lily heard someone say. She turned to see the Satrap, Nellens Rombulac, emerge from around the corner of the building. His armour was ripped and dented, and the usually elegantly styled mustache was missing half its length on one side.

"I've held this post for just shy of fifty years and I've dealt with three anathema in that time." He said as he walked closer. His gait was stilted, one of his legs was quite visibly bandaged with blood visible through the wrappings. "None of them managed something like this." He was practically seething with anger.

"I've dealt with an anathema before, on the blessed isle. He was skilled with a blade, but between Zeriah and I, he fell quickly." Lily replied, "This…" She swept and arm towards the empty courtyard. "I've never seen this before." An awkward silence fell between the two of them as they watched the redhead pick up a sword and walk over to the nearest warstrider. She poked it a few times before discarding the blade and taking a seat on the bent arm. She caught sight of them and gave a cheery wave. Lily noticed the Satrap flinch at the action.

Around them men, Dragon-Blooded and mortal, began to stick their heads out from cover. One, then two, and soon dozens started to cautiously step out of wherever they'd taken shelter. A few of the Dragon-Blooded spotted the two of them and headed to join them, along with a sergeant who Lily didn't recognize. Large, nearly as round as the Satrap in fact, he seemed quite shaken as he snapped to attention before the two of them.

"Lockler, you're alive, good. Status on the troops?" Rombulac asked, having evidently recognized the sergeant.

"Bad sire. Only a handful dead, mostly from that _thing_ that just happened. Most of them are wounded though. Broken bones, or stabbings sir." The sergeant replied. His voice quavering as he spoke.

A loud howl shook the courtyard, scaring many of the men back into hiding. Lockler jerked but managed to barely strangle a yelp of fear. Lily and the rest looked up. A silver-black blur streaked across their vision as the Lunar leapt from the fortress roof back to the ground near the other anathema. It shifted back to human form as it walked through the field of blades before stopping in front of the redhead. He said something and the girl shrugged.

The Satrap recovered first. "How many men do we still have capable of fighting?" He asked.

"Hundreds sir, but… Permission to speak freely sire?" The Sergeant asked.

"Granted." Rombulac said after a moment.

Lockler gulped, visibly steadied himself and said, "It's not that they men can't fight, they'll fight if you ask sire, but… They won't want to fight. All they've managed to do this entire battle is get beaten down out of hand. After seeing this last trick she pulled out…" He trailed off as Rombulac held up a hand.

"I understand Sergeant, truly I do. Which is why my orders are as follows: Gather the men, collect the wounded and rally at the main gate. Since we can't kill them our priorities must shift to containment until General Kitano can return."

"That'll be weeks from now." One of the Dragon-Blooded around them said, "You can't expect-"

"It is our duty. We will fall back to Alder Plaza and focus on keeping them within Garrison Heights. Kitano has nearly two dozen more chosen of the Dragons with him. Along with all but one of the Immaculate Monks." The Satrap snapped, "If we can hold long enough we'll have the numbers to deal with them permanently."

"A good plan, if based on flawed information." Lily was not the only one to jump as a smooth, feminine and melodic voice joined their conversation. A woman had appeared, as if from thin air, just beside them. Her hair, as black as the night sky, glittered with the light of stars as it swayed gently in an unseen breeze.

"Setarial." Rombulac said with a surprising amount of venom in his voice. Lily recognized the name, and the woman. She was Setarial, Lady of the Glittering Eastern Lights, the Goddess of Greyfalls itself. Reclusive, as many Gods were under Immaculate rule, she was rarely seen outside of her festivals and the occasional ball. Or so Lily had heard. She hadn't been in Greyfalls long enough to claim she had made an acquaintance of the powerful Goddess.

"Satrap." The goddess bowed shallowly in acknowledgement. Her voice was sardonic as she continued, "I see you are proving the superiority of Realm administration once again."

"We have things well enough-" The Satrap began.

The Goddess scoffed. "In hand? Hardly. I've seen enough to know that you have failed your charge of defending my city more thoroughly than you seem to realize." She said. There was a definite feel about her, like she knew something that none of them did, and was taking great joy out of holding it back.

The Satrap frowned. "In what way do you believe we've failed?" He asked, "We were just discussing containing these two Anathema until General Kitano returns." He gestured to the two who were sitting on the broken body of the warstrider as they looked on with bored interest.

"To start with you assume that General Kitano will return." The Goddess said with dry humour.

Lily felt her stomach drop out at that calm and measured statement. "He's dead?" One of the others asked in shock.

"Oh yes." Setarial smiled grimly. "I just received the message not even forty minutes ago. I was just coming to inform you when this entire… disaster began."

Lily looked back to the Satrap. The man looked like he'd just been fed an entire cart of extremely sour grapes. Well that or like someone had smacked him with a fish during the middle of a quiet meal.

"How?" He ground out wearily.

"He was drawn into battle, surrounded, and cut down by the Anathema at the head of the Vanehan army. There are, to my knowledge, no survivors." The Goddess informed them. "My condolences to any of you who had relatives or friends amongst the army."

Soft curses were bandied about as the men exchanged worried looks. Lily ignored them as she turned away from the conversation. Her gaze came to rest on the redheaded Forsaken and her moon-cursed partner. The girl was, by all appearances, starring up at her anima banner with a curious expression on her face. Her anima banner was slowly fading, the dragon in the sky was already barely visible amongst the ever shifting spectrum of reds and golds.

Behind her the conversation continued. "I assume there's more?" Rombulac asked tiredly.

"While you have been 'dealing' with these two a small host of just over a hundred strangely dressed soldiers equipped with odd weapons have been making their way through the city in the direction of this fortress. So far those troops that have encountered them have been killed almost to the man." To Lily the Goddess certainly sounded like she was relishing the chance to inform them just how screwed they were.

Lily closed her eyes and sighed softly. Hostile soldiers in the city, whether they were affiliated with the two anathema that they had just expended the vast majority of their strength against was debateable. What wasn't was the simple fact that they no longer had the strength to finish even the two fighters that they had been losing to.

Greyfalls as a Satrapy of the Realm was finished. Even if they simply allowed the Anathema to leave, and assuming they still wanted to do so, with the loss of General Kitano's army there was no chance they could hold the city against a determined assault.

"Is the Vaneha army headed here?" The Satrap finally asked.

"I believe so. Having smashed our primary field force he will want to capitalize on our moment of weakness. Of course with most of your troops needing medical attention there is little that can be done to stop them." Setarial sounded far too cheerful for Lily's sanity. "Of course even my informants low estimates put the enemy's troop count at around ten thousand."

Silence met the Goddess' words. Before anyone could say anything Lily turned away from the group and headed back inside the barracks building. As she did she spared one last glance at the pair of anathema that were still relaxing on the warstrider's broken form. A large raven had landed on the warstrider's head and appeared to be peering curiously down at the redhead.

It was an ordinary raven. Perfectly ordinary. There was nothing strange about the raven. In fact it was so perfectly ordinary that it was almost a marvel in itself. But it was an ordinary raven and deserved no more attention. After all, it was ordinary.

Lily turned away as she crossed the threshold of the building. She needed Zeriah's advice.

-0-0-0-0-0-

As the winds of the Hiryu Shoten Ha died down Ranma relaxed ever so slightly. The tornado she had just summoned had been, hands down, the single largest and most powerful tornado she had ever summon. Keeping it in check had taken a toll that she could feel in her muscles as a dull ache across her entire body.

She suppressed a flinch as the two warstriders crashed down nearby, followed by a hail of rather sharp and pointy weapons. She opened her eyes and looked around. Nearly a hundred meters of ground had simply been swept clean of all plant life, leaving only bare stone and dirt. Not that that was too surprising. There was rarely anything left after she unleashed that particular technique.

Still weapons and falling armour aside, there were also bodies scattered across the courtyard. Many of them were definitely dead. Broken necks, impaled on weapons, or imbedded in the ground. Fortunately it was only a handful, most of whom Ranma recognized as having been part of the group trying to skewer her. Still this place had made her a killer, again.

Death was a part of battle and fighting that she had been threatened with many times. Challengers and rivals had spent most of the last two years declaring their intent to kill her for whatever perceived transgression they were attempting to avenge. Yet while it would have been easier to simply kill them, in many cases she could have justified it as self-defence, she hadn't. It wasn't her way.

She sighed and stood up. While her muscles ached from the strain controlling the Hiryu Shoten Ha there was no stiffness in her movements. In the distance she could see the girl, Lily, step out of one of the buildings and look around cautiously. She was joined moments later by the Satrap as he slipped out from behind the corner of the same building.

She ignored them. Really at this point if they wanted to keep fighting then they were probably crazy. While they certainly hadn't impressed her with their skills, they had not come across as suicidal. Which meant she probably had time to relax a little and think about this whole mess she'd gotten into.

She looked at the mech nearest her curiously. Its limbs were bent and broken, and the armoured plating had been warped and ripped apart by the winds. It looked a bit like they'd been pried open by claws to be honest which was something she'd never seen from the Hiryu Shoten Ha before.

She walked over and pulled a sword from the ground as she did. Using the tip of the blade she poked it. Nothing happened. She repeated the action several times before dropping the blade. While made out of broken metal the warstrider was the only thing she could sit on that wasn't the ground.

The metal of the warstrider was cold as she sat down, but that was fine. She just needed to get off her feet for a little while. She caught sight of the two Dragon-Blooded staring at her across the courtyard and, in a fit of mischief, waved jauntily at them. Even from where she was she could see the Satrap flinch. Good, it served him right for unleashing a pair of mechs on her.

More men began to filter out from within and behind buildings where they had sought cover from the tornado. Some simply stood staring at the devastation she had wrought, seemingly broken by the sight, while others headed to join the Satrap and Magistrate.

As the group began to discuss something, probably her, she had to wonder what they were going to do. Really it would help if she at least knew why they seemed so hell bent on trying to kill her. She could understand arresting her; she had, after all, crashed through the ceiling during what appeared to be a party. But that didn't seem to be the reason why they wanted her dead.

They called her 'Anathema'. What an Anathema was, beyond a 5' 4" girl, she was had no clues. Every time she'd tried to talk it had been like reasoning with an enraged Ryouga. Completely and utterly pointless.

A howl split the night and Ranma looked up in time to catch sight of the silver outline of Ryouga's new wolf form as it crossed the distance from the fortress to land just in front of her. He shifted back and stretched.

"Was that bigger than last time?" Ryouga asked as he walked over.

"The Tornado?"

"What else?" Ryouga scoffed, "It nearly pulled me off the roof."

Ranma snorted. "Drama queen…" She muttered before sighing and shrugging. "Yeah it was bigger. A lot bigger, and… It felt different." She confessed, "It was wilder than normal and if I hadn't been so focused on the soul of ice I'd probably have been pulled in as well."

Ryouga looked at the broken mech then around at the field of weapons and bodies. After a moment of quietly looking at the dead he said, "You alright with this?" He gestured at the bodies.

"I'm fine." She replied, too quickly as it turned out. Her rival simply raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. "S'not like we haven't seen stuff like this before."

"We don't normally kill over a dozen people in our fights either." He said, looking oddly conflicted for a moment before sighing. "You sure you're fine with this?"

Ranma gave him an odd look, concern from him was really really weird, before sighing and conceding the point. "No, I'm not. I don't like it when I have to resort to things like this." She said before looking for a change of topic as an awkward silence enveloped the two.

Failing to find something she looked up at the manifestation of her battle aura that had formed during the fighting. The golden dragon was strange, but it felt… right? She'd never seen it before but it felt like it was a part of her just as much as her hands or feet. At the moment it seemed to be roaring its victory to the heavens in absolute silence.

Ryouga sat down beside her. She spared him a brief glance. He was busy starring at one of the bodies. His brow was furrowed in thought and his mouth was set in a grim line. Whatever his thoughts were, they were probably as depressing as they normally were.

Well she'd be horrible person if she just let him stay like that. "Wonder what they'll make of this when we get home." She said aloud.

Ryouga snorted. "If we get home." He replied.

"What?" The look she gave him was decidedly confused.

"This place… I've never seen anywhere like this before. It's so… anachronistic…" He said.

"Ana-what?" The confused look grew.

"They're using mechs," He tapped the metal beneath them, "but at the same time they're using torches to light their hallways and this courtyard. The language they're speaking sounds like Japanese, but it's so odd. Wherever we are, I don't think getting home is going to be as easy as swimming across the sea from china."

He fell silent and Ranma let him. He had a point, this was… Honestly it wasn't the absolute strangest thing that had ever happened to them, and didn't that say a lot about how messed up their lives were, but it was certainly one of the more unique incidents.

A soft _caw_ drew Ranma from her thoughts. A raven, a perfectly ordinary and not strange raven, was sitting on the main body of the mech and looking at them. Ranma almost looked away, it was after all a perfectly ordinary raven doing perfectly ordinary raven things, when it spoke.

"My name is Leitleen, my mistress Setarial sends her regards and hopes that the unpleasantness of this evening has not unduly influenced your impressions of her home." Said the most definitely not ordinary raven.

Ranma stared at the most definitely not ordinary raven for a moment before tapping Ryouga on the shoulder.

"What?" He said irritably.

"Raven." She said.

He looked at the raven. He looked back at her. "What about it?" He asked.

"Its talking." She said.

He looked at it again. Starred at it for a moment before shrugging. "You're seeing things. Its an ordinary raven." He said before starting to turn away. Then the raven snickered. He turned back.

"Ravens don't snicker." Ranma pointed out.

"Yes, we do." Leitleen said and something imperceptible changed about the raven. Ranma's eyes noticed the slightest silver sheen that glimmered amongst its feathers.

Ranma shook her head and sighed, while noticing that Ryouga was now giving the Raven a very wide-eyed stare. Idiot. "What do you want?" She asked irritably.

The raven stopped snickering. She bowed formally, her wings spreading ever so slightly in a curtsy. "My apologies for the trickery. It was not my intention to deceive. My mistress is currently speaking with the Dragon-Blooded in an effort to end the hostilities that have taken place this evening. She was hoping that the two of you might consent to a meeting once she has taken measures to convince them to ignore you."

Ranma shared a look with Ryouga. This night had just jumped up the weirdness scale quite a bit.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"So the old fool is dead." Zeriah greeted Lily as she walked in.

"That Goddess believes so." Lily said as she sat down knelt to her mentor.

"Then it is most likely true." The Earth-aspect said with a sigh. "I've met Kitano before, it was one of the reasons I decided to bring us out here after that incident. To be crushed so handily… I expected more of him."

Lily shrugged, then realized that her mentor's eyes were still closed. "It sounds like he was heavily outnumbered." She said.

"Outnumbered and outsmarted." Zeriah snarked before he opened his eyes. "Rombulac will be a fool if he doesn't run home to the realm after this mess."

The water aspect leaned against the wall of the barracks and sighed. "Greyfalls is finished. The Vaneha army will roll over it, and if what we've heard about its master's opinion of the Realm holds true…"

"Greyfalls will burn, as an example." Zeriah finished, "Aye, that's the most likely case. Which puts us into something of a pickle. I am in no condition to travel, and I have no doubt that Rombulac will take every ship Greyfalls currently has when he leaves."

"We are sure he will leave?" Lily asked. She knew it was likely. Too much territory to hold, too few men to hold it with. Too few left to even hold Greyfalls itself, and that assuming they hadn't just finished getting crushed by a little girl and her dog.

"Rombulac is a political animal. He knows when to cut and run." Zeriah said softly. He groaned as he shifted himself into a more comfortable position. "Even if I were capable of travel at the moment we still can't return to the Blessed Isle. With everything the way it is…"

Lily frowned. Going back to the Isle wasn't possible, not unless they wanted to go back to ducking assassins. "House Ragara won't have forgotten what we did yet." She said softly.

Her mentor scoffed. "They won't forget within our lifetimes." He said, "Some humiliations can never be forgotten."

A soft knock on the doorway drew their attention. Setarial stood smiling, framed by the doorway in the flickering torchlight. "I see the two of you have a good grasp of our current situation, or as good of one as can be expected." She said, stepping into the entrance hall.

"And what is it you want?" Lily asked acerbically. Her mentor placed a calming hand on her shoulder, grunting in pain as he did.

"Easy Lily." He said. He turned as well as he could to face the goddess as she entered. "What does the Goddess of Greyfalls itself what with a pair of forlorn Imperial Magistrates?"

The smile she sent them was nearly inhuman in its width. "Ah, but forlorn magistrates are the best I find." She said, "After all, they have no reason to run off and leave me to fight an impossible battle by myself."

"So he's leaving?" Zeriah asked. He didn't need to say a name, all three of them knew who he referred to.

The Goddess shrugged daintily. "He is acting as I expected him to. He has sent runners to inform the Dynasts of the change in situation and it leaving via the Garrison Heights Canal entrance. Even if the forces inside the city were to throw themselves onto his blade he would still run. Eight hundred men are not capable of defending this city by themselves." She said, smiling despite the nature of her news.

"You have a plan." Zeriah stated. The Goddess inclined her head, but said nothing. "But what do you have planned I wonder…" He trailed off leaving his words hanging for the Goddess to continue. She merely smiled.

Lily's mind whirled with thoughts as she looked at the smiling Goddess. "The anathema." She said finally after the silence had dragged on for a full minute. Both looked to her, her mentor puzzled, and the Goddess smug. "You intend to try and persuade them to fight in defense of your city."

"I intend far more than that, if they'll hear me out." Setarial said.

"You would hand over an Imperial Satrap to Anathema." Zeriah breathed, horrified. "Are you mad! When the Immaculate Order hears of this they will-" His rant was cut off as Setarial raised a single finger.

"Point One: I have never been loyal to your Realm child. My only loyalty is to this city and its continued survival. Until now the Realm was the best choice. As of today I must cast aside surety and take a gamble if I wish to ensure this city survives the next month." She said firmly, before raising as second. "Point Two: I lived during the first age. I, in point of fact, lived before the first age. I have seen what Solars can accomplish, what they can achieve. Even their most incompetent administrators were far better than any of the fools the Blessed Isle has sent in the last several centuries."

She paused as they stared at her. Lowering her hand she folded them both inside her robes. "You have seen the might these two so-called 'anathema' wield. Tell me, Magistrates, what is it you desire most? I doubt it is moral righteousness, else you would have joined the immaculate order. I suspect what you wish for most is what has driven you this far from the safety of the Realm."

Despite herself Lily couldn't prevent herself from speaking. "And what, pray tell, is it you believe we desire." She asked, flinching at the stern look Zeriah sent her.

"To live Magistrate. If Dawn-Comes-With-Thunder finds you. You will die. He hates the Realm and you, regardless of your current status, are of the Realm. He will kill you, and it will not be quick." Setarial said.

Zeriah was silent as he gazed up at the Goddess. "And our fates are now bound to Greyfalls, is that the point you wished to make Goddess?" He asked firmly.

"One of them." Setarial replied. "I believe that those two, the Solar and Lunar, and those who even now are advancing on this fortress from within the city. I believe that they might be able to manage victory where your realm has failed."

The two magistrates remained silent for a time. Zeriah and Lily exchanged a Look, and Lily opened her mouth to speak only for her mentor to nod. She remained quiet. "What is it you require?" He asked finally, resignation clear in his voice.

"Your cooperation, and possibly, your loyalty." Setarial replied with a gentle smile. She spread her arms out in a gesture of kindness. "This city is where you have chosen to flee, it stands at the edge of your world. Where further can you run Magistrates? The time to make a stand has come. Will you make it, or will you run past the edges of the map?"

"We hardly have a choice." Lily said as she stood.

"There you are wrong magistrate." The Goddess of Greyfalls said with a smile, "For choice is the one thing all Exalted have."

"So it is said." Zeriah murmured before nodding. "We will… cooperate with this madness. For now. What is it you wish?" He asked.

Setarial smiled. "Lily if you wouldn't help your mentor to his feet. We will be needed at the Scintillating River Palace shortly." She said.

The two magistrates shared another look. "Why there?" Lily asked.

"Because I have arranged for a meeting to take place there at Dawn, which is only a few short hours away." Setarial said, "There the future of this city shall be decided."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ryu surveyed the newly arrived soldiers with touch of disbelief. He turned to Sergeant Akiyama who was standing next to him. "They're women." He said quietly. Indeed the soldiers who had caught up to them were, all of them, women. While Ryu was under no misconceptions about how well women could fight…

"Yes they are." Akiyama said, "But they are perfectly capable in a battle."

"That's not my problem." Ryu said, "My problem is that regulation forbids women being used for frontline duties where the possibility of close combat exists. We're fighting in a city."

Sergeant Ito snorted from the other side. "With respect sir, your plan isn't exactly regulation approved either." He said, "And I may not have mentioned but the rest of my group are also women."

Ryu pinched the bridge of his nose. "And that is how many?" He asked.

"Another fifteen or so." Ito shrugged. "I didn't even know we had this many women in the battalion."

Ryu sighed a shook his head. In the end it didn't change his plans, it was just odd. Just like the entirety of this situation was to begin with. "Anything else odd, but inconsequential, that I should know?" He asked.

"All the other groups reported a similar gender ratio." Akiyama said after a moment, "It's nothing that should affect operation, but there you go."

"Nothing that will affect operations. There's a reason I stuck them with guard duty and left." Ito snarked quietly.

Ryu sighed, rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked up. "Sergeant Akiyama, get them briefed and ready to head up. We're moving out in ASAP. After that tornado I want to get up there quickly. Before Saotome decides to try and bring the city down on our heads." He said.

"Yes sir." Akiyama said before stepping forward barking Ryu watched the soldiers moved to obey the orders given with alacrity.

Ito leaned forward. "Is this wise? There's a reason that regulation exists." He said.

Ryu snorted. "Visit Nerima sometime, then come back and try to say that with a straight face." He said, "Get your men together."

"Yes sir." Ito said snapping to attention before heading back inside the tea house. The sound of him barking orders could be heard through the open windows.

Ryu sighed. This night was rapidly climbing the list of 'strange fucking things I wished never happened to me'. A flutter of feathers caught his attention and he looked up. Immediately he looked away. It was just a raven sitting on the roof of the Komatsu LAV. A perfectly ordinary raven, doing perfectly ordinary raven things. At night, in the dark.

Ryu paused then shook his head. It was a perfectly ordinary raven, nothing to be suspicious of. A snicker drew his attention back towards the raven. The perfectly ordinary raven looking at him with perfectly ordinary raven eyes…

"Hello there, are you the one in charge here?" The perfectly ordinary raven said.

Ryu blinked and stared. Perfectly ordinary ravens did not speak, but this was a perfectly ordinary raven so obviously it didn't just speak. So who spoke?

The perfectly ordinary raven snickered, and then suddenly it wasn't perfectly ordinary. Its feathers shimmered silver in the reflected light of the headlamps. He went for his sidearm.

The raven blinked as the handgun was leveled in its face. "My apologies." It said in a feminine voice. "I'm here with a message for you from my Mistress Setarial."

"Sir, why are you pointing your gun at a perfectly ordinary bird?" One of his soldiers asked.

Ryu glared at the bird and clicked off the safety. The woman who had commented stopped, stared and rubbed her eyes as the bird stopped being perfectly ordinary.

"What in the world…" She said before raising her rifle. Around the intersection others noticed what was going on and in moments the bird found itself surrounded, quite uncomfortably, by nearly eighty rifles and one handgun. Someone ducked into the turret ring of the LAV and the fifty cal. on the back joined the other weapons as it was pointed down at the bird.

"Well… this didn't go quite as planned." The raven said softly.

"I imagine not spirit." Akiyama said as he shouldered his way through the crowd, "Now, what is it you want? And answer quickly, my commander's trigger finger looks itchy."

The bird gulped audibly. "Very well. As I said my Mistress Setarial wishes to speak with your commanding officer. At the top of this street is Garrison Heights. Up there is the Scintillating River Palace. She wishes to speak with you, in hopes of forestalling further hostilities." The raven said.

"Well that wasn't hard to say, now as it?" Akiyama said.

"What conditions does your 'Mistress' set." Ryu asked, not lowering his weapon.

"You may bring as many troops as you wish. After tonight the local administration and their men have decided to abandon the city. Mistress Setarial hopes that you may be, amenable, to talking this over rather than fighting." The raven said.

After a moment Ryu lowered his weapon and gestured for everyone else to do the same. "Lower your weapons." He ordered, "Sergeant, thoughts?"

"Well it's better than assaulting a fortress, though I have to wonder what happened up there." The older man replied.

"The Dawn caste girl and her Lunar destroyed the local garrison." The raven said, "My Mistress thought it best to extend an invitation to you as well, since you are protecting that Zenith girl."

"Zenith girl? You mean Miss Kuno?" Ryu asked, "The monk called her Anathema."

The bird made a mocking noise. "Immaculate Monks think they know the truth. Dogma guides their actions, even when the truth is staring them in the face. My Mistress will share what she knows if you attend." She said.

"And if we don't spirit?" Akiyama asked.

The bird made an odd motion that Ryu interpreted as a shrug. "Whether you come or not is your decision. Milady has many things to deal with after tonight. You are just one of those. All that will happen is discussion, nothing more. The meeting begins at Dawn, should you wish to attend." With that a perfectly ordinary raven flew into the sky.

Ryu track the most-certainly-not-ordinary raven with his eyes before turning to his 2IC. "Well?" He asked.

The older man shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "That is a rather disorienting experience. I think we should go. For one, it sounds like Saotome will be there."

Ryu nodded. "I agree. We'll leave Ito here with most of the men. We'll take twenty with us up the hill, and we'll take the LAV just in case." He said, "Get it organized."

"Sir, yes sir." Akiyama said. He turned to the crowd around them. "Alright you lot heard him. Corporal Nakajima, Corporal Saito. Your teams are coming with us. Everyone else report to Ito. You are holding this intersection until we call for you, or come and get you. Understood!"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Author's Note: Ow my fingers. No I'm not joking. The last half of this was written in something of a marathon.

So, I realize there's probably a few section that are going to give people issues, I'll address them as they come up for the most part. Also to those who know their Exalted Lore you can probably guess the reasoning behind the gender ratio thing. It's not just a throw away.

Anyway have fun ripping apart the story for inconsistencies and spelling mistakes. I look forward to fixing what needs it!

Changelog: I've made a few edits to this chapter. In the sections where they speak about the numbers of SDF personnel involved I've dropped the number from around 300 to somewhere in the range of 80-90. At the same time what I had previously stated at being 500 or so people outside the sdf has been given an actual number, and a much smaller one. That being around 90-100 people. This is of course the preliminary number and will rise, but after having given it some thought and played with a few different variations I've come to the conclusion that there shouldn't be more than between 250 and 300 in the greater Greyfalls region.


	4. Chapter 4

Lockler starred blankly as Setarial walked away from the group. The news she had delivered was impossible. General Kitano, dead. He couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it. For just over a decade the General had commanded the Greyfalls' Legion. Hell he'd created the Legion from scratch, training former criminals and down on their luck men into one of the most disciplined groups in the hundred kingdoms.

That act of creation had, in many ways, saved Lockler. Before the legion he'd been drunk, out of work, and rapidly digging himself an early grave with the debt he owed the Guild. An incident involving a group of legionnaires had ended with him being offered the coin, or the noose. He'd taken the coin.

He'd found himself in a uniform and more sober than he'd been in years before the sun went down the next day. He'd never looked back. And now, the Realm was leaving. He knew why, he'd just heard why. Too many enemies, not enough soldiers. Even if they weren't so heavily outnumbered they would have probably had to leave. Just lacking General Kitano's forces there was no way they could handle another Anathema if he was even half as competent as the ones they'd just met, and been handily defeated by.

After years of loyalty it stung, badly.

"Sergeant." Lockler jerked his head around to face the Satrap. The Dragon-Blood's face was pale and he looked tired. "I need you to send some messengers around. Any Realm citizens need to get out either out of the city, or down to the docks. Once you've done that visit the Scintillating River Palace and let them know. We'll wait until noon. Then we're leaving, sooner if we can't hold it."

Sergeant Lockler saluted. "Sir, yes sir." He snapped out just as he had so many times before.

"Dismissed." The Satrap said and turned back to the other Dragon-Blooded.

Lockler stood there for a second before shaking himself and turning away. It took him a few minutes to find enough men to make the job quick. There were something around ten thousand islanders in the entire Satrapy, most of them spent the majority of their time in Greyfalls itself, but many had manse's and estates in the countryside. That still meant he had somewhere in the range of six to eight thousand people he had to warn.

Somehow he doubted that the Satrap would be able to get most of them out the city before noon. Or even be able to fit all of them on the boats.

As the men he'd gathered dispersed to their jobs he started walking, past the fortress and barracks towards the Scintillating River Palace. Other than the Fortress the Palace was the only other building of any note on Garrison heights.

On a clear day it's marble arches and minarets could be seen towering over the walls that surrounded it on all sides. Being on Garrison heights it was enclosed by the walls of the fortress, and was further sectioned off with an inner wall whose primary purpose was to keep its guards free of unwanted guests. Like Legionnaires for example.

Like that group of four Legionnaires he could see in the torchlight going through the wrought iron gate that separated the Palace grounds from the rest of Garrison Heights.

As the flickering torchlight lit up one of the men's faces, and the large warhammer on his back, Lockler doubled his pace, his slouched posture straightening as he did so. He recognized that man. Belmane Gregor, a troublemaker of Tanu descent. If Lockler had a yen for every time he'd had to deal with the fallout of one of that fool's ill-thought ideas he'd have retired long ago.

Belmane was a former convict, having been recruited right out of prison when the legion first formed. While most former convicts had moved on and adapted to life in the Legion, Belmane was an irritating exception. The man was, at heart, a petty crook who'd do anything for a few yen. Not that he was talented at any of it. Really the only thing that had kept him in the Legion despite his tendencies was the fact that he was tall and strong, even for a Tanu.

He also had no reason to be entering the Palace at this time.

Lockler broke into a run and, despite his own excess weight, covered the distance quickly. As he reach the gate there was a loud scream that echoed, from the wide open Palace doors.

The Sergeant pushed himself as he ran the length of the cobbled path from the gate to the door. Looting. It had to be. Of course Belmane was taking this chance to jump ship and get out of the Legion. Probably intended to take as much that wasn't nailed down as possible and head off somewhere to live the highlife, for however many days his meagre take would grant him.

The scene inside the palace entrance hall was not very good. A group of servants dressed for bed, undoubtedly awoken by the fighting, were standing on the stairs cowering away from the hulking form of Belmane. At his feet Lockler recognized the still form of Bretegani Wild Grove, the steward of the Palace.

"BELMANE!" Lockler shouted. His voice boomed, reverberating off the walls of the entrance hall.

The hulking Tanu turned from where he was threatening the servants, including Wild Grove's wife, and grinned as he laid eyes on Lockler. "Sergeant. I would have thought you'd be riding the Satrap's coattails still." He chuckled. "Perhaps all the way back to the Realm."

Lockler drew his blade and started circling Belmane. The large northman stepped over the body of Wild Grove and matched Lockler's steps, circling the room until the two of them had traded places. Lockler stood between the disgraced Legionnaire and the servants. Behind him two of the men took the opportunity to run down and pick up the unconscious Wild Grove, before hurrying back up the stairs.

"Well Sergeant, what are you going to do?" Belmane asked, "You've come running into a fight without back up, again. This time I'm not on your side, and I'm still the one with the numbers. BOYS GET OUT HERE!" He shouted.

From one of the side rooms a pair of Legionnaires, short and stocky Zaranthi the both of them. Compared to Belmane, or even Lockler, they were short, but Lockler had seen the two of them in a fight before. Cowards they might have been, but they possessed some skill.

"Walk away Belmane." Lockler said as he backed up to the stairs, climbing the first few steps to give himself the high ground.

The Tanu scoffed and spat on the ground. "Or what? There's no one coming here. You know I've never liked you. Always takin' every chance to be a self-righteous ass. It's your fault we got our asses kicked tonight, you know that. Coulda just walked away and let that guy go. No, instead you antagonized an Anathema, and now look at everything." He laughed. "'Course this is a good thing for me. Never wanted to be a Legionnaire, one of the Realm's little attack dogs. But a choice between the coin and the noose is no choice, you know that as well as I do."

Lockler scowled at the rambling fool. "Then leave, no one's going to stop you." He said.

"No, no one to do that anymore is there." Belmane agreed, "But they still owe me recompense for the last ten years. I ain't leavin' 'till I have my pay. If I have to get it by looting this place? Always hated these shiny towers. All this stone and glit for an Empress that never left her fucking island."

"Gregor, we gonna kill him? Or ya just gonna talk him to death?" The Zaranthi on the left asked.

The Tanu dropped his standard issue sword and pulled the warhammer from his back. Hefting it in two hands he smiled. "Kill him o'course. I'd say it was good knowing you Sergeant, but I'd be lyin', and you've always told me not to." He said before raising it above his head and charging with a roar.

Lockler took a step back and the hammer crashed through the step he'd been standing on. One of the Zaranthi slashed at his leg only to be deflected by his short sword. The second one was backhanded away, stumbling down the stairs.

As Belmane ripped his warhammer out of the stairs Lockler caught sight of the fourth looter. Another Tanu, he was carrying a large crate overflowing with what looked like as much gold and silver dishes and candelabras as he could fit. He ducked out the main door.

The sergeant desperately avoided another swing from Belmane's hammer as he fended off the first Zaranthi. The short man took Lockler's boot to his jaw and rolled down the stairs. As the two Zaranthi shook off their injuries there was a wheezing shout as the fourth looter came flying back through the front door, an angry redhead close behind.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter Four: Meetings of Broken Fate

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Follow the inner wall for six hundred feet, there you will find a gate leading to the Scintillating River Palace." Leitleen said, gesturing down the length of the wall. "I would take you myself, but I have others I must deliver invitations to." She bowed low before taking flight.

As the raven flew off into the pitch black sky as Ranma and Ryouga watched. The redhead sighed and looked at her friend/rival. "So?" She prodded, "Should we go?"

The bandana wearing martial artist snorted. "Don't really have a choice do we." He said as he stood up. "Everyone here seems to be clearing out, and I don't remember them being all that eager to answer our questions before."

Ranma snorted. "At the least I should be able to find some clothes." She muttered as she stood up.

"Which way was it again?" Ryouga asked as he looked around. Internally Ranma stifled a groan. Of course he'd forgotten, she'd have to lead him there like usual. Before Ranma could say anything Ryouga snapped his fingers and started walking. "Its this way, right?" He asked as he followed the wall… In the right direction.

Ranma stared after him for a moment. "Well he had to get it right one of these days." Ranma snarked quietly before she jogged up to his side. "So you remembered directions for once pork breath." She said with a cheeky grin.

Ryouga sent her a dark look that she shrugged off. "I'm not that bad." He grumbled.

The redhead snorted. "And I was born a girl." She quipped, earning another sideways look from her rival. Ranma ignored him as she walked ahead. The idea of somewhere warm, and clothing to wear, pulled her along.

The wall led them past the fortress and around a reasonably large set of stables before it took a right hand turn. As they approached the gate they were looking for they spotted two familiar people walking towards them. Well, one was leaning heavily on the other. The one being leaned on had blue hair and her dress was significantly more tattered than it had been when the evening had started. Then man leaning on her looked like he was in considerable pain. A grimace crossed his face with every step they took. Both groups stopped just outside the gate where a pair of burning torches provided decent illumination.

"I see Setarial's message reached you." Lily said after an awkward moment.

"It did." Ranma said, her eye narrowing as she looked at the Magistrate. "I wasn't expecting you be to here."

"The current situation is… different than what it was when you arrived." Lily admitted softly.

"What my student means is that the Realm's forces are pulling out of the city." Zeriah ground out through a gasp of pain. "I would elaborate more, but this is not the time or place for such discussion. If we could head inside, I would be far more able to explain once I am no longer struggling to stand."

The two martial artists exchanged a look and Ranma shrugged. Ryouga sighed and stepped forward. "I can help him if you'd like." He offered.

Lily looked to her mentor who sighed and nodded. "No offence Lily, but walking like this is taking a toll on you as well." He said.

She huffed. "Very well." She said, "But don't complain to me when he drops you on the ground."

"He won't." Ranma said idly as she walked past them and looked through the gate. A long cobbled path lead straight to a set of large double doors that had been flung wide open. Light spilled out from inside, allowing Ranma to make out the shapes of bushes and trees along the pathway.

Voices, faint and nearly inaudible, could be heard from inside the palace. Angry shouting from what Ranma could tell. The loud crash and the scream that echoed faintly moments later served to punctuate the situation.

Ranma ran down the path, her feet making barely a whisper of noise on the cobbled path. The clattering of heels on stone let her know Lily had decided to follow. Ranma wasn't even halfway down the path when a man carrying a large wooden crate ran out the doorway. A silver candelabra was hanging over one of the crate's sides. He seemed to be in a hurry.

"LOOTERS! STOP HIM!" Lily shouted from behind.

The man had no time to react as Ranma's speed doubled with a whisper of golden light so faint that on any other night it would have been impossible to see. She slammed her open palm into his diaphragm, driving the breath from him and sending him flying back through the door with a strangled cry. She caught the crate with one hand and glanced inside. Candelabras, silver plates, and a painting. Nothing that wouldn't take five seconds to grab and thrown in.

"Looters." Lily ground out as she caught up, "I didn't expect to see any. They must have decided to desert rather than leave with the Satrap."

Ranma gave Lily a curious look but kept the questions she had for later. Like Zeriah had said, this wasn't the place to be standing and talking. And she wanted to find something to wear, the cold was starting to get to her.

The entrance hall was a large three story hall with a single wide set of stairs that lead towards the back of the room before breaking off and heading to either side, leading to the second floor. More stairs could be seen off to either side of the second floor leading up to the third. A large chandelier decorated in carved crystals that glowed with a soft white light, providing the illumination for the room.

At the base of the stairs three Legionnaires were in a stand-off with another, somewhat overweight one, who was standing between them and a group of what appeared to be servants. At the sound their comrade hitting the ground the three turned to look at them. The fourth Legionnaire took advantage of their distraction to drive his blade through the side of one's neck. Before the other two could recover he whipped the blade across the neck of the second, sending him stumbling away clutching his neck.

Ranma covered a flinch as the Legionnaire pressed his attack on the third looter. He only lasted a couple seconds before the Legionnaire's blade sank to the hilt in his stomach. The large Legionnaire kicked the looter off his blade and turned to face the two of them. His face went white at the sight of Ranma before he noticed Lily, to whom he raised his blade in a salute.

"Magistrate. Excellent timing." He said with a slight quaver as he glanced at Ranma. "They were about to get the better of me."

Lily smiled as she stepped forward, coincidentally stepping on the first looter as she did so. He groaned as she ground her heel into his chest. "Stay put." She said to him before moving on. "Hello Lockler. You seemed to have everything well in hand."

"Not as well as I'd like. Its disgraceful. Just because the Legion is leaving the city doesn't give them any right to become animals." He said as he cleaned his blade and sheathed it. "You seem to be keeping some odd company as well Lady magistrate."

Lily sighed. "Desperate times, unfortunately. Setarial has called a meeting here for those who are staying behind." She said, "She hoped that whatever lingering issues there are with Ranma here can be resolved without further damage to the city."

The Legionnaire boggled at her. "B- Setarial is the Goddes of Greyfalls. Something like this is… It sounds like something the Immaculates might consider-"

"Heresy?" Lily finished for him, "Setarial is the Goddess of Greyfalls, to not try and organize something in this period of change would be a dereliction of her duty. There is also the fact that the Immaculate presence in the city is currently nonexistent, rendering this entire line of discussion purely academic."

"I- yes of course Magistrate." Lockler said after a moment. He looked back at the servants. "Are you alright? Anyone injured?" He asked.

"No one since you intervened Sergeant Lockler." Said a short and somewhat round woman dressed in a flamboyant purple bathrobe. She walked down the stairs stepped carefully around the blood left by the looters. She walked past both Lockler and Lily and walked to Ranma. She gave Ranma a look up and down with a disapproving frown.

For the first time that night Ranma felt embarrassment as the woman judged her. Her stare reminded the redhead of how her mother would frequently judge how he was acting or dressing. She shifted nervously and turned away slightly. The woman sighed and shook her head, the frown disappearing.

"Honestly. So you are the one responsible for tonight's madness I take it?" She asked.

"Only in part." Lily said before Ranma could respond, "Her arrival certainly didn't help the situation, but she has been remarkably restrained all things considered. Certainly more than I would have been."

Ranma shot a glance at the dead bodies piled at the foot of the stairs. If that was how people around here dealt with their opponents she could just imagine how Lily would have expected her to behave. Visions of the hall and courtyard painted in the blood and organs of the garrison danced briefly in her head. She pushed them away without too many issues.

She knew that her Hiryu Shoten Ha and Moko Takabisha had together added at least a dozen names to the list of people she'd killed, but they're bodies were simply broken not… Torn apart. See the blood pooling and at the foot of the stairs made her feel… odd, lightheaded. Perhaps even a touch nauseous.

"I don't like killing. Not if I can avoid it." She said after a moment.

The purple robed woman followed her gaze to the pile of bodies and sighed. She looked up at the servants. "Brital, Larri, get down here and clear away this mess. It appears to be bothering our guest." She ordered.

Ranma blinked and looked over at the woman. "I-" She started.

"It needs to be done anyway." The woman said waving her off. "Tell me Magistrate, does the Goddess wish for us to take care of this Anathema?" She asked Lily.

Lily smiled and bowed slightly. "She and her companion are to be considered under the Goddess's protection until something more formal can be arranged. She asks that you show hospitality to them at least until the meeting later this morning is over with." She said.

"Companion?" The woman asked, "What companion-"

Ryouga stepped through the front door with Zeriah leaning heavily against him. The Magistrate's breath was heavy and pained. "Can I get a hand here?" Ryouga asked.

"Oh my. Sergeant, if you wouldn't mind helping the magistrate here into one of the sitting rooms." The heavy set woman asked.

The Sergeant hesitated for a moment, his face almost the same shade as snow, before he swallowed nervously. "O-of course Lady Bretegani. Right away." He said as he carefully walked over to Ryouga and Zeriah.

"You huh. Didn't expect to see you again. Not going to start trying to get people to kill me again, are you?" Ryouga asked.

The Sergeant stuttered as he wildly shook his head no. Not terribly surprising if the two of them had had a run in already. Ryouga could be rather terrifying to have as an enemy. The combination of unstoppable juggernaut and ridiculous skill could be very intimidating to the unprepared.

"Now." Lady Bretegani turned back to Ranma, "You are tracking dirt and more blood into this palace." She said before waving towards two young women who were still nervously peering over the railing of the stairs above. "Come down here girls."

The two young woman, both wearing dressing gowns having obviously been woken by the attempted looting of the palace, carefully made their way down the stairs. Both of them had long brown hair and their faces, indeed their bodies, were near perfect mirrors of eachother. Ranma decided that they had to be twin. They gave the bodies at the bottom of the stairs as much space as they could manage before coming to a halt by Lady Bretegani.

"Juniper, Jasmine, I need the two of you to help our guest get clean. She'll need a bath, clothing and someone to deal with that hair of hers." She instructed the two girls.

"Oi." Ranma complained, only to shut up as the formidable woman shot her a scolding look. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Lily snickering into her hand in what she must have thought was a discrete manner.

"Yes Lady Bretegani." The two girls said in sync, creating an eerie echo as they did.

The girl on the left continued, "Which quarters should we use Lady Bretegani?"

The woman paused and looked to Lily, one eyebrow raised. To Ranma's confusion Lily only smiled and gestured with her hands. Lady Bretegani nodded. "She is a guest of the Goddess Setarial, use the private quarters on the fourth floor, east wing. The elevated bathing area should be appropriately private." She leaned in and whispered something into the two girl's ears.

"Of course milady." The two chimed with a bow. They swept forward and each one of them grabbed one of Ranma's arms. "This way milady." They chorused as they pulled Ranma towards the stairs.

"Bu- Hey stop pulling." Ranma protested as they resolutely dragged the martial artist, who was half-heartedly resisting, up the stairs. Behind them she could hear Ryouga's familiar laughter, accompanied by Lily's own chiming laughter. "I'm not a Lady damn it." She said as they cleared the top of the stairs.

"You are High Setarial's guest." Said the one on her left.

"You are a Lady." Continued the one on her right as they dragged towards the next flight of stairs.

Once the three of them were out of sight, and up another two floors, Ranma sighed and yanked her arms loose from the two girls. "I can walk on my own." She said with a huff. The two girls exchanged amused looks.

"If milady insists." The right one said with a bow. Ranma concealed an annoyed twitch.

"I am not a lady damn it." She said angrily. As the left one went to respond she continued, "I'm not even a girl."

The two girls exchanged another set of glances, amusement and confusion being communicated in equal measures. "I think milady has two rather large counter arguments to that claim." The left one said as they looked back.

"Milady is certainly not a man." The right said.

A muscle on Ranma's forehead spasmed as she restrained an annoyed exclamation. This conversation never got less awkward, no matter how many times she had it. "It's a curse." She said.

"Ooh." The left one said as a light of understanding dawned behind her eyes.

The right one continued to look befuddled. "Being born a woman is hardly-" She started.

"No sister. That is not what she means." The left one said with a shake of her head. "She means a literal curse, correct?"

Ranma nodded. "My father took me to a place called Jusenkyo. It's a valley full of cursed springs. Fall in one and you get cursed to become whatever drowned there last." She said, deliberately leaving out that it was because neither of them could read the local language. They'd been in China for most of a year, they should have picked up something by then. Or found someone who could translate a pamphlet.

A slightly disturbed look was traded by the two girls. "Was this a shadowland m- sir?" The one on the left asked.

Ranma blinked. That was a very different reaction than she normally got. "I have no idea what a shadowland is." She said honestly.

The two shared another look. "How can she not know what a shadowland is?" The one on the right asked.

"Perhaps she grew up far away from one?" The one on the left said. She turned to Ranma. "Is that body the body of someone who died?" She asked.

Oh. Well that was… That explained the reaction. "I- I don't think that's the way it works?" Ranma said as she thought about it. "No, I've know someone else who fell in the spring of drowned girl, they look nothing like me. Also I rather look like my mother."

The two servant girls sighed in relief, tension flowing out of them. She couldn't really blame them, it was a rather creepy thought that had never occurred to her. The one on the left smiled at Ranma. "While you may not have been born a girl, milady, Lady Bretegani will not abide us-" She started.

Ranma sighed, her voice full of exasperation. "It's not permanent." She said, interrupting the well intentioned girl. "It's based on water temperature. Cold water girl, hot water boy." If anyone claimed her voice held a long-suffering whine to it she would smack them. Hard. Fortunately the only ones in the hallway to hear her were the two girls before her.

"Oh. Um…" A blush formed with lightning speed on both the servant girl's faces. "We see… milord." They chorused before turning as one and marching off down the hallway. "This way milord." They called.

Ranma stared after them for a second before sighing. Every single time. Really after all this time the sheer awkwardness of the reveal was what bothered her the most. People always started acting so weird the moment they found out. With an annoyed expression Ranma followed the Juniper and Jasmine down the hallway.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Lady Bretegani Wild Petal stifled a chuckle that tried to emerge as she watched the twins drag of the anathema girl, despite her protests. After a moment the brief moment of comedy subsided. "You are lucky you know that Magistrate." She said, turning to Lily. "Where my husband conscious I have no doubt he would have her thrown out immediately. The orders of a Goddess or not."

The Magistrate sobered instantly. "Setarial has asked certain things of me should Wild Grove become a problem." She said seriously.

"I do hope such things are not required." Lady Bretegani said calmly. Her sympathy for her husband was, as it had been since they had been sent all the way to Greyfalls, at an all time low. If he insisted on angering a Goddess, or an Imperial Magistrate, she could hardly be blamed for walking away. Especially for what he had done. "Fortunately for you my husband has been unconscious since one of those brigands knocked him out. He is being seen to up stairs."

Lily bowed to her. "My condolences Lady Bretegani." She said, "I wish him well in recovering."

"... So do I." Lady Bretegani said softly before shaking herself. She shot a look towards Ryouga who was still laughing to himself. Her eyes glared at the ragged pair of trousers he was wearing. "Tell me Magistrate, is it the habit these days for Anathema to parade around as close to naked as possible?"

Lily snorted. "No more than it is for many dynasts." The Dragon-Blooded said sardonically. Both of them briefly thought of the infamous House Cynis. Being naked in public would probably be the least of their debauched practices.

"More accurate than I'd wish to admit." Lady Bretegani conceded after a moment. She looked back to the stairs where the remainder of her staff remained. Technically they were her husband's staff, but with him out of commission she was the closest thing to a steward that the Scintilating River Palace had.

"Darcy, Willow." She said, waving another pair of girls over. "Take this young man and get him a bath and clean clothes. The Green room should suffice."

"Yes milady." The two servants in question said, both dipping into a bow before sweeping over to the still laughing Ryouga. Darcy and Willow were a study in opposites to those who didn't know them. Where Willow was, much like her namesake, thin and appeared able to be blown over by a stiff breeze, Darcy was tall and quite amazonian in build.

Darcy lay a hand on Ryouga's shoulder, interrupting his slowly dying laughter. "This way to a bath, milord." She said, forcibly steering him towards the hallway to their right. Willow followed after them at a sedate pace.

"And that should take care of both of them for the moment." Lady Bretegani said to Lily.

"For a couple of hours I suspect." Lily replied, "Which should give us time to get ready for this meeting Setarial has planned." Her face was calm but Lady Bretegani had been dealing with Dragon-Blooded for years. Dynasts especially. Compared to many she had seen before the Magistrate's poker-face required some work. The way the edge of her smile tightened ever so slightly was enough for her to recognize that the woman held at least some reservations about this entire affair.

Still one did not turn down a Goddess lightly, especially when there were no Immaculate Monks around to handle the refusal.

Lady Bretegani looked down at her bathrobe and sighed. "If there is to be a meeting here, as her Lady Setarial has requested then I shall have to get changed. There will be a lot to do and this is not appropriate to be doing it in." She said.

"I'll see to Zeriah while you do that then." Lily said, gesturing to the sitting room where he had been taken.

"Just one question before I go." Lady Bretegani said, "How many are coming?"

Lily pursed her lips in thought for a moment. "As many as wish to come." She replied cryptically.

Lady Bretegani sighed. "How… useful." She said. Trust a magistrate to make things more difficult.

Lily chuckled and the Stewardess of the Scintillating River Palace could hear the amusement in her voice as she began to climb the stairs. "I said the very same thing, Stewardess." Well… Perhaps it was the Goddess to blame for this.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The hallways of the Scintillating River Palace were among the most opulent Ranma had ever seen. She had seen the insides of the Kuno mansion and the Chardin manor, both families were substantially wealthy and had famously opulent tastes. Famously strange tastes as well.

The Scintillating River Palace had them both beaten in taste, and opulence. The floors were richly carpeted in eye pleasing patterns that flowed through the five colours Ranma had seen the Dragon-Blooded display with their battle auras. Reds, blues, blacks, greens and white swirled and blended, not just in the carpet, but in mosaics of miniature tiles that decorated the walls and romanesque columns of the hallway. At least where there weren't elaborate scrolls, paintings or other decorations hanging from the wall.

The room the twins showed her to was far down the hall, near the end. The ornate double doors of heavy oak wood were surprisingly unadorned except for the entwining dragons that formed the door handles.

The hallway behind the door took an immediate right before coming opening up onto a beautifully tiled roman-style bath. The room was dominated by a pool of steam water nearly as large as an Olympic swimming pool. Above the pool there was no roof, nor was the there a far wall, leaving the room open to the cold air. Doors to either side led off into other rooms.

Glowing crystals were set into the walls in decorative patterns that provided enough illumination to give the bathing chamber a soft, almost romantic, atmosphere. The servant on Ranma's right tapped her on the shoulder.

"This way to the bathing chamber mi-sir. This room is for soaking after you're clean." She said gesturing to the right where her sister was waiting beside a door. She flinched as Ranma looked at her.

Ranma stifled a sigh. Ever since their conversation on the way up the two sisters had been skittish and nervous. Occasionally the two would whisper something to each other, the word anathema came up frequently from what little Ranma had managed to overhear. She was rapidly coming to hate that word.

The redhead stepped past the nervous servant girls and into the next chamber. Several dimly glowing crystals provided illumination. The room was less than a quarter of the size of the large pool outside. A shallow pool of water filled most of the room. Soap and other bathing supplies were stacked on an ornate shelf to one side.

She stopped at the entrance and said, "I can wash myself you know."

The girl, Jasmine, frowned. "Lady Bretegani instructed us to give you full courtesy, as befitting a guest of our Palace." She said.

"And you want to see the transformation." Ranma deadpanned. Both girls flinched guiltily and blushed. Ranma sighed. "Well come on. Let's get this over with." She walked over to the side of the pool. The steam coming off it was reassuring at least. She glanced back at the two girls. They were peaking around the corners of the doorway.

Ranma rolled her eyes and stepped into the water. After a few steps she was nearly waist deep in the comfortably warm water. And yet… The redhead prodded one breast with a finger. It wobbled defiantly. No she still had breasts.

She sat down in the water as an uneasy sense of deja vu sank to the bottom of her stomach. The hot water lapped over her chest and teased her braid. She wasn't changing, again. She scooped the water with one hand and gave it a sniff. It smelled like an ordinary spring, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

Behind her she could hear the two girls talking.

"She's just sitting there. Is the change gradual?" One of them asked the other.

"Perhaps there is no change, and she's just crazy." The other replied, "They say anathema are delusional."

"I'm not crazy." Ranma said, her voice cracking slightly as she did. "It's just- It's just not working." It was taking a great deal of will not to start crying like she had the last time this had occurred. Her mind was whirling with questions as she thought about what could have been the cause this time. No pressure points, no locking ladle. The only odd thing that might have done it was that strange stormt that had dragged Ryouga and her to this place. Well that or a strange interaction with one of the innumerable odd weapons that had been brought to bear against her…

Minutes past as Ranma contemplated what, exactly, had gone wrong; all the while she struggled to keep from crying. Finally she heard the soft steps of bare feet on wet tile as one of the girls walked over.

"Sister!" She heard the other one hiss.

The servant girl ignored her sister as she knelt next to Ranma on the pool's edge and lay her hand on Ranma's shoulder. "This curse… Your reaction. I do not believe you are lying." She said before taking Ranma's braid in hand.

The redhead could feel the string holding it together being undone. "Why would I lie?" Ranma said softly, "It just makes me look crazy."

The servant hummed as she finished undoing the braid and ran a hand through Ranma's hair. "Sister, bring the supplies over here." She called. After a moment Ranma heard the other girl's feet as she scrambled to bring the supplies her sister asked for.

As the servant set to work on the tangled mess that was Ranma's hair she continued speaking softly. "I am no expert on… magic. Of the Dragon's chosen or others, but I know there are those in the city who are. The Goddess Setarial is said to be wise in such matters, perhaps she might be able to help you with this matter."

Ranma brushed a loose hair from her eyes and sighed. "She'll want something from me. They always want something." Ranma said. She let herself sink into the water of the bath. The feel of the servant's hands running through her hair was soothing, it helped reign in the panic that was threatening to overwhelm her.

It helped that being locked was not an entirely new experience for Ranma. It had happened in the past twice before, though with different methods each time. She could handle this. She just needed to find out what caused it, and who might know how to undo it; and she already had one lead.

"Goddess… People have been calling this Setarial a goddess. Is that a title, or do you mean a literal Goddess? Like one of the Kami?" Ranma asked.

The girl's hands paused as they worked at a knot in Ranma's hair. "She is the Goddess of Greyfalls. The nation and the city. She is the spirit of our home given form." She said after a moment, "Do you not having something similar where you come from?" She sounded puzzled as she went back to working on Ranma's hair.

"I… don't know?" Ranma said thinking about it. "We have Kami who we pray to, but I've never heard of one coming and talking to people? Not for a long time anyway."

"We do not normally see the Gods and Goddesses ourselves." The other servant said as she knelt next to her sister. She lifted Ranma's right arm out of the water and attempted to lather it with soap. Ranma absently took the soap from her grip and started to lather herself. The girl pouted before continuing. "The Immaculate Order teaches that mere mortals are too weak in spirit to deal with the gods directly. To do so invites them to excess, and us to heresy."

"So her coming out to see Ryouga and I is, odd?" Ranma asked, curious.

"Very much so." The first girl said as she began to rub something into Ranma's hair. It felt nice, smelled nice too. Like strawberries.

"Is this the first time you've ever had something like this happen?" She asked after several minutes of silence.

Ranma paused, one leg out of the water and pointing towards the ceiling as she lathered it with soap. "Twice." She said after a moment, her voice subdued. She closed her eyes and leg slipped back under the water silently. "The first was simple to deal with. It wasn't even a real 'lock'... This old woman I know used a pressure point on me. Anytime I touched water that was more than cold it felt like I'd just dumped a bucket of boiling water on me."

Ranma could feel the wince from the girl behind her through the hands in her hair. "I managed to beat her challenge and get the cure for it…" She sighed and pulled away, turning to look at the two girls.

"The second one was a bastard. Claimed to be some Half-Dragon Prince from China. His people lived near Jusenkyo and they used to capture strong creatures and throw them into the spring of drowned girl. They'd lock 'em into the form of a girl with this bucket and ladle they had. Bastard used it on me when I didn't just let him and his retainers manhandle Akane."

Herb was a fight that Ranma wished had never happened, and not just because she near lost. "I nearly killed him over that." She said, "I turned his own power back on him and we leveled a mountain. I managed to unlock my curse… It was so close that time…" She sighed and sank back into the water.

"This, just keeps happening… I hate it." She fell silent and after a few moments she felt hands begin to once again work on her hair. The rest of the bath past in an awkward silence.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Lockler carefully helped Zeriah onto the long divan that dominated one wall of the sitting room. The Earth Aspect groaned as he laid down on the cushions.

"Thank you, Sergeant… Ragara wasn't it?" He asked.

"Yes, though of a long separated branch. I doubt we even show up on records anymore." Lockler said as he helped the beaten man get a pillow under his head.

Zeriah chuckled painfully. "You would be surprised at the records the Great Houses keep." He said.

"Perhaps I would be. Though how much I should care is… Excuse me." Lockler flushed as he realized he was speak perhaps a touch too informally. "My apologies, tonight has had me rattled, so to speak."

"It has done more than just rattle people Sergeant." The Magistrate replied as he finally found a reasonably comfortable spot, or at least a less painful one. "Tonight will change the face of Politics in the Scavenger Lands forever. No longer does the Realm have any land to concern itself with so far inland, nor does it have the port here to trade with for goods from the Scavenger Lands." He chuckled and grimaced. "Speak truthfully to me Sergeant, I promise you'll be in no trouble for it." He promised.

The sergeant gave him a level look before nodding. Something about the magistrate's words rang true. He would see no trouble over his opinions this night. At least, not from Zeriah. He looked around for a place to sit. The sergeant found said place in a nearby armchair after a moment's search. He took a few seconds to collect himself.

"I've served in this Legion almost since the day it formed." He said, "Been a sergeant for most of it. I've fought and killed for the Realm and the Realm has taken good care of my home. That changed tonight." He paused and licked his suddenly dry lips nervously. What he had to say was treason. Eventually he continued.

"I get that we're outnumbered by this Vanehan army, but to run away without even trying to hold the city. I've heard rumours of what that Anathema does to anyone he catches associating with the realm. He doesn't care if it was now, or a decade ago and he hates everything we've… they've built." He sighed explosively. "Greyfalls is a city that's been built by the Realm, and it's the envy of everyone we neighbour… Do you see where I'm going sir?"

"Greyfalls is a symbol in the east of the benefits of associating with the Empress' Realm." Zeriah said with a cough. "He'll want to burn it to the ground simply for what it represents. We've thought the same things."

Lockler sighed. "Yes sir. Greyfalls is my home, and to leave it to his hands… He'll kill everyone with even the slightest connection to the Realm as an example. If even half of tales are true I wouldn't expect a single woman or child to make it out of the city… To just walk away when my home is in such danger. Sir, as much as the mere thought of even laying eyes on an anathema of any stripe, especially after tonight, fills me with dread; it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Tens of thousands will die if we walk away."

"Then stay." Lockler jumped as a woman's hand rested on his left shoulder. Looking behind him he found Lily smiling kindly. "We are both staying. This city will need men like you in the coming days."

"You are suggesting I desert?" He said incredulously, "I would have thought if anyone would argue against it the two of you would be the ones."

Lily laughed grimly as she found her own seat. "Our loyalty was sworn to the Empress. Since her disappearance there have been those on the Isle who seek to avenge themselves on those of us who meddled in their affairs over the years." Zeriah said, "We are no longer safe back on the Isle, that is why we came here. We have nowhere to run further."

"For good or ill our fates have become tied to this city." Lily added, "You have family here I assume?"

"I do, though I would be hesitant to claim any of them after all this time." Lockler said, "But I also have friends. If I leave I would be leaving them to die."

"It seems then that you have a dilemma before you Sergeant." Zeriah said, "On one hand duty and loyalty to your Legion and the Realm. On the other, loyalty and duty to your birthplace, your city, and your family."

"Tell us, Sergeant." Lily said, leaning forward, "Which is stronger? Loyalty to a Legion that has is even now taking you away from all you love and care for. Or loyalty to your home, and family?"

Lockler opened his mouth to reply, but he hesitated. He thought and, after a minute of silence, he gave his answer. The magistrates smiled. He hoped he made the right choice.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kodachi sat at the table under the window in the tea house. The golden glow that had been bleeding off her had long since dissipated, leaving her with only the lanterns for illumination. She didn't mind though, not like she would have even a handful of hours earlier. Or however long it had really been.

It was hard to believe that only a few hours had past, but then, she supposed, meeting a God had a tendency to skew one's perception of time. One moment she had been relaxing in the study reading a novel, and fantasizing about her Ranma, the next the world had come apart at the seams only to be replaced by an expanse of clouds lit by Him.

Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun. She had stood on that expanse of clouds before the lord of heaven himself and been judged. For an instance she had seen her entire life, all her decisions and delusions, laid out bare for her heart to see. What she had seen…

Kodachi's hand clenched around the teacup in her hands and only the sound of creaking ceramic stopped her from breaking it outright. Her mother would not have been proud of her, of the things she'd done. Cheating, assault, poisoning, attempted murder. Such things were not the way of a proper young woman, let alone a noble one. She knew this, had always known, but she had let her desires and obsessions dictate her actions.

Somehow he had found something inside her worthy, something pure… no, something capable of being pure. For there was no way even one such as He could have found something inside her that wasn't tainted by her madness in some way…

Kodachi sighed and rested her head against the teacup. The same thoughts had been swirling through her head ever since she had awoke, they had nearly caused her death when self-recrimination had frozen her before that monk.

"What have I done…" She murmured quietly. Thoughts like this weren't helping anything, but it was difficult to think of anything else. Facing one's inner demons was supposed to be difficult, but all the tales she had read had the heroine or hero facing them after much preparation. She'd had all of a second of awe filled starring before they had been literally ripped from the depths of her soul and laid out for her to see and know.

"Something that has you treating a cup of tea like a bottle of Sake apparently." A woman snarked.

Kodachi looked up from her teacup. Standing a few feet away was a woman dressed in a JGSDF uniform. A rifle was just visible over her shoulder. "I would like to see you have everything you thought you knew proven false and take it well." She snapped at the woman. A moment later she flushed with guilt. There she went again, lashing out at someone who didn't deserve it.

The older woman rolled her eyes and slid into the chair across from the teenager. "Alright, you seem to be having issues unrelated to our situation." She said, slipping her water bottle out of her harness and taking a sip. She screwed the cap back on with mechanical precision and slid it back into its pouch. "Want to talk about it?"

Kodachi blinked. "It's not really any of your business." She said, "This is something I need to think on by myself."

The woman across from her scoffed. "The last time I heard that was from my sister, over a boy." Kodachi hid a flinch, though apparently not well as the woman noticed. "Uh huh. Well if he's done anything wrong he's not worth it. Just walk away."

The girl smiled sadly. "It's not what he's done." She said before taking a sip of the tea. The bitter taste of the tea suited her mood quite a bit. "The things I've done while trying to get him… He even told me to stop, I never listened…" She said, wiping a tear from her right eye.

"One of those then." The woman across from her sighed before reaching out and taking one of Kodachi's hands. "You wouldn't have been the first girl to do something foolish over what she thought was love."

A wry smile graced Kodachi's face. "Most don't try to murder the competition, or kidnap the love interest." She said.

The woman chuckled. "No I suppose not. Of course most girls aren't chasing Nerima's strangest young man either." She said.

Kodachi blinked. "You- know who I'm talking about?" She asked.

"Saotome Ranma, one of the most watched people in Japan. At least by the SDF." She said. "You've picked an interesting man to try and win."

Kodachi snorted in an unlady-like manner. "You mean an interesting man to torment. My mother would be… disappointed." She let out a deep wavering breath.

"We don't always make the best choices." The woman massaged the back of Kodachi's hand in a soothing manner. "So, what are you going to do now?"

Kodachi was silent for a minute. She knew what she had to do, or at least where she had to start. She needed to apologize. Needed to talk with Ranma. There had to be something she could do to make it right. "Who are you?" She asked, rather than give voice to her thoughts, "I didn't know the JSDF had women in it."

The woman chuckled. "Corporal Kawashima Suki." She said before she leaned back into her chair and popped out her canteen again. "There's a few women in the SDF. We're not supposed to be near the fighting unless there's no choice. Like tonight." She said as she took a swig from the canteen. The sigh afterwards was more satisfied than Kodachi would've expected from just water. She wasn't the only one.

"Corporal." Sergeant Ito called from across the room, "If I checked that Canteen I'd find it full of water right?"

The woman threw a cheeky grin across the tea house. "Clear as spring water sir." She shouted back, taking another swig as she did.

"It better be. Since you're in charge here." The sergeant said as he walked over.

The spray of oddly coloured 'water' thankfully missed Kodachi and her tea. "What?" Kawashima asked.

The sergeant chuckled. "An invite has just been delivered to the Lieutenant. A talking bird dropped out of the sky to deliver it. Akiyama and I are accompanying him up to the castle. Which means you are now the ranking soldier here." He said with a grim satisfaction. "Try not to get my men killed Corporal."

"I won't sir." Kawashima replied, snapping up from her seat into a picture perfect salute.

"I'll believe it when I see it." The sergeant said before turning his attention on Kodachi. "I don't know why but Ryu wants you along as well."

"Me?" Kodachi asked, pointing at herself.

"Yes you. Come on we're wasting time." Ito said before turning on his heel and heading out the door. Kodachi stared after him for a moment. Why on earth would they want her?

"Better get moving, he seems to be in a bad mood right now." Kawashima said as she slipped her canteen back into its pouch.

Kodachi took another sip of her tea before sighing and standing. "I- Why would they want me?" She asked the older woman.

The woman's shrug did nothing to reassure her. "Who knows. Only one way to find out." Suki said.

Feeling less than reassured Kodachi followed the sergeant out the door.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was a rattled Saotome Ranma that stepped out of the bath thirty minutes later, feeling both cleaner than she had in awhile and less confident than she had in even longer. A fluffy white towel, handed to her by one of the twins, found itself wrapped tightly around her torso as she was guided out of the bathing room and back to the large open air pool.

She sat down on the edge of the pool, her legs dangling into the hot water of the shallow end, with a quiet sigh. Being a girl in hot water was, quite truthfully, one of the singular most disturbing things she had ever experienced in her life. Well other than the first week after she'd been cursed, or the neko-ken, or…

She chuckled quietly and ran a hand through her damp hair. So maybe it wasn't the strangest thing she'd ever experienced, but it was up there. Which probably said more for just how screwed up her life tended to be than anything else.

"Um, Miss Saotome?" One of the twins asked nervously.

Ranma suppressed the urge to snap out that she was a guy, damnit. At this point all they had was her word, and there was no way she could prove otherwise. Continuing to insist would make her seem crazier than she already did. Probably. Sometimes people acted in ways she just couldn't understand.

"Yes?" She asked. The two girls didn't deserve having her anger and frustration vented on them, not after what they'd already done.

"We're going to start organizing the next bit. Will you be alright here?" The other twin asked.

Ranma managed to smile confidently. "I'm fine. Just going to enjoy the water for a bit." She said. She slid into the water and sat down on a small ledge, the hot water of the pool reached to the base of her neck, lapping distractingly around her breasts.

The twins exchanged a look, and Ranma was left with the distinct impression she wasn't fooling either of them. "Very well. We'll be through the far left doorway, near the balcony, if you need us." The second said before walking off, "Come along Juniper."

Ranma watched the two of them go and sighed quietly, leaning her head against the hard tiles. "What happened?" She softly asked the room. Her thoughts were going in circles as she tried to figure out what, exactly, she had encountered that had led to this. It had to have something to do with the strange storm that had brought them to this place.

She looked up into the empty starless sky and for a moment she wondered, maybe the storm had killed them and this was the underworld? They'd died and this was their purgatory. She pushed the thought aside with difficulty. It might be an explanation, but she very much doubted that her death would be as painless as this.

She sighed and tried to empty her mind. The water was warm, and the last few hours had left her feeling mentally exhausted. She yawned and closed her eyes. A few moments later she was asleep.

An indeterminable amount of time later her eyes snapped open and her hand lashed out, closing around a thin hand reaching for her shoulder. She blinked and shook off the remnants of her nap before looking up at the very surprised face of Jasmine. The young woman looked somewhat pained by the tight grip Ranma had closed her hand in.

"Sorry." Ranma said as she released the young servant.

"I-my apologies Mi- Si- Mis.. um.." Jasmine stuttered.

Ranma patted her comfortingly on the shoulder as the redhead stood and smoothly exited the pool, stretching carefully as she held the wet towel tight. "It's oka." She said, yawning. Off to one side Juniper stood with a red robe nearly the same scarlet shade as Ranma's hair.

"For you, um… Miss." Juniper offered the robe hesitantly.

The white, and soaked, towel hit the floor as Ranma took the robe and shrugged it on, tying the belt with one hand as she stifled another yawn with the other. The nap she'd just taken had done little more than make her want a chance to actually sleep.

"This way please." Ranma didn't protest as Juniper led her towards the room the two servants had disappeared into earlier.

The room was little more than a short hallway that led through another ornate door into well decorated, and rather posh, parlor. A small table sat in front of the burning fireplace, surrounded on either side with comfortable looking armchairs. After the cold outdoors the room was refreshingly warm. There were two sets of double doors, one directly across from the bath entrance and the other to her left.

Juniper led her through the room to the set of double doors on the far side and gestured for her to enter. Through the door was a large bedroom, easily larger than the one she'd shared with her father back at the Tendo's. A truly massive four-poster bed dominated the room, both in scale and it in splendor with its scarlet sheets only a shade removed from her own hair colour.

Off to one side sat a vanity, with a large mirror framed in a strange golden metal that shimmered in light of the crystal lamps. Another, full length, mirror stood next to it in a frame of a strange otherworldly silver. Bookcases, half full at best, filled one corner along with several more comfortable looking armchairs and a small table.

"Please, have a seat." Juniper bowed and gestured to the chair in front of the vanity.

Ranma sat down. In the mirror she could see the two servants as they loomed over the back of the chair. "And now?" Ranma asked.

"Now my sister will deal with your hair while I see what clothing we have available for you… Do you have a preference milady?" Jasmine asked.

Ranma stifled a flinch at the title. "Do you have anything I could get into a fight in?" She asked.

The two servants exchanged a glance. "Do you.. Expect a fight milady?" Juniper asked nervously.

She restrained a second annoyed flinch at the title. "No? They just tend to happen to me." She said with a shrug.

"I- I will see what we have." Jasmine said. She smiled sadly. "I'm not sure what we have available. Are you willing to accept something else if I can't find something that works?"

Ranma sighed and shrugged. "Just don't expect it to come back in one piece if things go wrong, and they usually do." She said. It was an unfortunate truth of her life.

"Everything stored in this room belonged to former residents of the palace." Jasmine said as she headed for the closets by the bed. "No one will be angry if something happens to it."

"Well that's a relief." Ranma muttered.

"Now while my sister deals with that, let us deal with this hair of yours." Juniper said, taking a brush from the vanity. "Would you like it in a braid again?"

"If you can." Ranma said, her attention already wandering. "This is a fancy room. Are all your guest rooms this nice?" She asked.

"Oh no. This isn't a guest room." Juniper said as she brushed Ranma's hair.

Ranma restrained the urge to turn and look at her. "Who's it for then?" She asked. It was a very beautiful room.

"In theory the Scarlet Empress." The servant girl replied.

This time Ranma did turn to face her. "This is for an Empress?" It certainly looked good enough for a ruler.

Juniper smiled sadly as she turned Ranma's head to face the vanity once more. "In theory at least. Despite Greyfalls having maintained this Palace for centuries the Scarlet Empress has never once visited. The room hasn't ever been used for its original purpose. We keep it clean, but the fact we use it to store old clothes should tell you enough about the odds of her ever coming to visit. Especially since she's been missing for the last six years."

"Huh." Ranma leaned into the chair as Juniper continued her brushing. "Who's the Scarlet Empress?" She asked a moment later. The brushing stopped and Ranma could hear Jasmine's search through the closet stop.

After a moment they both restarted. "I suppose wherever you've never heard of the Realm before, have you?" Juniper asked, sounding curious.

"Never." Ranma said, "I guess she's the ruler of this Realm?"

"Yes, she has ruled it since its foundation nearly eight centuries ago." The servant girl said.

"Eight… Centuries? Eight hundred years?" Ranma asked. Even Cologne was only around three hundred, just how shriveled and gremlin-like would someone more than twice that look?

"Yes. As one of the Dragon-Blooded she is gifted with an extremely long life." Juniper said, "Our home of Greyfalls is far to the East of the Blessed Isle, where the Realm exists. We are the furthest eastern reach of the Empire. I'm not sure why anyone ever thought she would visit our home, the distance is so great…" Juniper trailed off thoughtfully.

"How far away is the… Blessed Isle you called it?" Ranma asked.

Juniper hummed and tapped the hairbrush to her chin. "I'm not entirely sure. Its in the center of the Inland Sea, which is on the other end of the Scavenger Lands… A couple thousand miles at the bare minimum." She said after a moment's thought.

"Somewhat more than that sister." Jasmine called from across the room, "Three thousand at the least. Or so the traders in the markets say."

"Yes, well the exact number doesn't matter." Juniper dismissed as she got back to brushing out Ranma's hair. "It is months of travel, even with the aid of the rivers."

Ranma frowned as the two sisters bickered over semantics. There was no where on Earth that you could hide an Empire with that sort of reach and not have it be internationally famous. Even she could name the nations that had that sort of reach. Add that to an ancient Empress and everything else she'd seen that night.

She eyed the glowing crystal lamps. If they ran on electricity she'd eat the brush Juniper was using. No everything combined was painting a pretty clear picture. Wherever Ryouga and her had found themselves, there was little to no chance this was Earth. Unless they'd time traveled again. God she hoped they hadn't time traveled again. If she had to have another go round with the Nanban mirror she was going to kill someone.

As she had been thinking Juniper had finished brushing her hair and had begun to braid the scarlet strands. Ranma sighed and closed her eyes. At times it was nice to let someone else deal with the small things, and at least Juniper and her sister were proving more competent than Akane.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The ride through the streets of Greyfalls in the LAV was slow and rougher than what Kodachi was used to. The vehicle bounced and jolted without ceasing as it slowly climbed the cobbled stone streets up the hill towards the fortress above. The backseats were also very utilitarian, being little more than plastic fold-outs from the sides of the back. The only blessing was that other than the woman manning the gun the back of the LAV was empty.

The rest of their group were on foot, jogging at a decent clip, and spread around the vehicle as they trundled along. Twice they had run into what appeared to be Legion runners; who, on spotting their small group of twenty soldiers and her, had promptly turned and fled.

No it was clear that whatever had occurred up in the fortress had profoundly changed something about the city. Occasionally, when she glanced out the windows, she could see nervous people taking peeks out their windows at the convoy as it passed.

"They seem scared." Kodachi noted aloud.

Sergeant Akiyama, sitting in the front driver's seat, chuckled grimly. "Of course they are. We dropped from the sky into the midst of their city and immediately started fighting their defenders. Can you honestly say we've made a good impression?" He asked.

When put that way she really couldn't say they had made a good impression. The young woman let silence, except for the creak of the vehicle, reign as she stared out the back window. Eventually the Lieutenant, who had taken the front passenger's seat, called for a halt.

"What's going on?" Kodachi asked as she leaned forward, past the gunner so she could see out the front window.

Akiyama glanced at her. "Take a look." He said, gesturing out the windshield. In front of them, about a hundred feet away across a plaza and up a steep incline, were the main gates of the fortress. Only visible due to the flickering lights of torches and braziers.

Tall and made of stonework in a certainly european styling, if she had to guess perhaps sixteenth century europe, the gates were certainly impressive this close. As were the wall, though they were somewhat less impressive than the gate house given the large gaping hole she could see off to one side.

The great metal doors that should have been barring entrance were wide open and appeared completely unguarded. "No guards." Ryu said. He rolled down his window. "ITO! TAKE A FIRE TEAM UP AND INVESTIGATE THE ENTRANCE! SIGNAL IF IT'S CLEAR!" He shouted.

"YES SIR! Corporal Watanabe, you're fire team's with me." Ito responded. He and the designated group moved up quickly, crossing the open ground of the plaza at a dead sprint and climbed the slope without slowing down. They reached the wall without encountering hostilities. Two at a time they ducked through the gate, and then they were out of sight.

"Now we wait." Akiyama said over his shoulder to Kodachi. The next few minutes dragged on in silence.

"Well there's no shooting yet. That's good, right?" Kodachi said.

Ryu sighed. "Hopefully. It could just mean they didn't see it coming." He said, then winced when he realized who he was talking to. He turned to her. "Look, um.." He started.

Kodachi giggled. "I'm hardly a delicate flower Lieutenant. I think you and your people are well aware of that." She said.

Akiyama chuckled softly. "Ain't that the truth." He said before tapping Ryu on the shoulder. "Top of the wall, looks like a flashlight."

The Lieutenant turned around and looked up. "So it is." He wound down the window. "Everyone, move up." He shouted before looking to Akiyama. "Get us in there first. This thing will take an ambush better than they will."

"Yes sir." The vehicle lurched forward and roared across the plaza, up the hill and through the gate. Amazingly, to Kodachi, the soldiers actually kept pace with the vehicle for the first couple seconds before it outstripped them.

The moment they were through the gate Akiyama slammed on the breaks, bringing them to halt just inside the courtyard. A door into the gatehouse popped open and Ito stepped out.

"Gatehouse is empty. Whatever happened, they bugged out PDQ. There's still lanterns and candles burning in there." He said as he stepped up to the vehicle.

"Which matches what we were told." Ryu said tapping the door thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Then there's that." Ito waved towards the drill yard. A massive gaping hole was visible in the side of the central keep. Bricks and dust covered a wide stretch of dirt in all directions. Then there were the two large blue and red forms that lay in a twisted embraced not far from their position.

"What. The. Fuck… One guy did all this?" Akiyama said, leaning on his steering wheel. He seemed utterly stupified.

Ryu's eyes were fixed on the twisted wreckage of what appeared to be two full mech suits as he nodded slowly. "Yeah." He gulped audibly. "Yeah I think so."

Kodachi wasn't entirely sure why they seemed to surprised. Sure the mechs were a bit odd, even by Nerima standards, but this level of destruction was hardly surprising. "It reminds me of when m-" She barely stopped herself from using an endearment, "When Ranma wins a battle."

"Yes well." Ryu cleared his throat nervously. "We have reason to believe this was done by Ranma."

"What?" Kodachi broke from looking at the destruction to stare at Ryu. Ranma was… here? In this place? And she was, was. Oh god she was a mess. She nee- She breathed out heavily as she counted to five. Then she did so a second time. "I-I see." She finally said. "Was.. was bringing me along to this such a good idea?" She asked.

"The people who called this meeting referred to you as 'The Zenith'." Ryu said, "I want to know what they mean by that, and you being here is the best way." Behind them the rest of their forces started trickling through the gate. Judging by the soft exclamations of surprise they were as shocked by the damage as their superiors were.

"I see." Kodachi sighed, "I suppose keeping them waiting would be rude."

"Something tells me we should try making any additional enemies if we can help it." Ryu replied. He turned back to Ito. "Keep your fire team here and hold the gate. If we have to make a quick exit I don't want this thing locking us in."

"Yes sir." Ito said, "Anything else sir?"

"Stay safe." He said before leaning out the window. "Everyone, let's keep moving. Follow the wall." He gestured to the closest wall, "And keep an eye out for anything that might be a Palace."

"SIR, YES SIR!" The soldiers chorused as they fanned out ahead of the LAV once more. Soon they were moving again. The LAV trundled slowly along as they followed the wall around the central fortress and another boxy building.

"Barracks, probably." Akiyama said as they passed it.

The radio crackled. "Sir, I'm seeing movement in several windows of the barracks building." A woman's voice said.

"Ignore them for now. They're just looking." Ryu said.

"Yes sir." The woman responded.

A minute or so later the wall turned inwards and they followed it. Soon the radio crackled to life again, the same soldier as before said, "We've got a gate here. Looks mainly decorative, but I don't recognize the material. Doesn't look like iron or steel sir."

"Understood. Hold position." Ryu said and a few seconds later they caught up to the soldiers who were gathering around a gap in the wall. The LAV pulled up next to the gateway and Ryu stepped out of the vehicle. "This it?" He asked the woman leading the group.

"Looks like it." She said, gesturing through the gate. Ryu looked past her.

"Yeah that looks fancy enough." He said. "Alright. Akiyama pick a fire team, you're coming with Miss Kuno and I. Everyone else stays here, guard the gate and the LAV."

Akiyama popped the driver's door and stepped out. "Yes sir. Coporal Saito, you're in charge here. Corporal Kita, you're fire team is with us." He said as he walked around the vehicle.

Kodachi opened the side door and stepped out, shivering in the cold evening air. "Bit chilly. Innit." One of the soldier said to her. The woman grinned as Kodachi shot her a look.

"A bit perhaps." Kodachi said after a moment. "Feels like november actually."

"Who knows." Ryu said as he walked over. "It might just be for all we know."

"Sir." The soldier acknowledge with a nod.

"Private Arai. You're part of Kita's team, correct?" He asked.

"Yes sir." She said.

"Stick by Miss Kuno. If things go wrong your job is to get her out. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir." She replied.

"Good. This way if you would Miss Kuno." Ryu gestured for her to walk with him.

"Of course." Kodachi smiled politely as she followed him to the gate. Once there she could see what he meant by 'fancy enough'. The mansion was a good four stories tall and lights could be seen inside. Strangely they lacked the same flickering quality that the rest of the lights they had seen until not did.

"Let's go." Ryu said taking the lead, his weapon held low as he led the way. Kodachi followed just a step behind and to the right.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I believe that's good for now." Juniper said as she tied off Ranma's braid.

Ranma yawned and rubbed her eyes as she stirred from the doze she'd fallen into. Ranma blinked and stared at the redhaired girl looking back from within the mirror. Her hair was elegantly pulled back into one of the most intricate braids Ranma had ever seen. It was certainly more intricate than anything she had ever had done before. Of course that was also probably because it was equally more feminine than anything she'd ever done either.

There was one issue though. Thin strands of gold had been, without her noticing, woven into the intricate braid of her hair. They glittered and twinkled as she moved her head, reflecting the light in a way that made her hair seem to be more like a scarlet flame than ever before.

It took a few seconds for her to process the sight before a frown appeared on her face. Though she was further annoyed to notice that it looked more like a pout on the face in the mirror. "Why," She asked, "is there gold in my hair?"

Juniper coughed into her hand and blushed. "Well… Lady Bretegani asked that we prepare you to appear before the Goddess. I.. I may have gotten a touch carried away." She admitted sheepishly.

Ranma ran a hand along her braid and fished the end out from behind her. Unlike her fears it was not tied together with a ribbon or some silly sparkly doodad. Instead all of the threads of gold came together at a clasp of that strange golden metal in the shape of a dragon curled in sleep.

"Sister…" Jasmine sighed. "You should have known that…" She paused obviously searching for the correct word. She sighed again. "That she would not want something so feminine."

"You're the one who said my first attempt was too plain to present to a Goddess." Juniper sniped back as she shuffled nervously in place. "I-If you wish I can undo it Milady. There is still time before dawn."

Ranma sighed and flicked her braid back over her shoulder. She looked at Juniper in the mirror. She was nervous, worried that she'd done something wrong. She had of course. Ranma didn't want gold woven into her hair. It was girly, feminine and… Well it glittered. Still, as she looked at her own reflection, she could only agree, it made her look amazing. The way the light caught the strands of gold and mingled with her hair gave it a glow like the coming dawn.

"How much time do we have?" Ranma asked as she continued to admire the flickering of light of the gold. It was a very nice bit of braiding.

"Dawn after Calibration always comes early the first day." Jasmine said. Ranma shot a glance at the girl who was shaking her head at a dress before putting it back.

"Perhaps.. Just under an hour?" Juniper said swallowing nervously. Ranma frowned and watched as the servant girl flinched. Despite their mostly laid back attitude they were very nervous around her, and had been the entire night. Again it was probably that whole 'anathema' thing that everyone kept going on and on about, and maybe a fear that she was delusional. Despite the blatant presence of magic everywhere she looked it still seemed a bit ridiculous.

"It's fine." Ranma said, putting on a gentle smile. It wasn't really, but, well they were nervous enough around her. And she had been trying follow Lady Bretegani's instruction, and that woman reminded the redhead of her mother. She'd just have to live with it for now.

She shot one last admiring glance at her reflection before looking over to Jasmine. "Have you found something?" She asked, getting up from the chair.

"I- not really milady." Jasmine said as she gave the closets a long suffering look. "I am no soldiers, but I doubt that long ballroom gowns qualify as appropriate wear for a battle."

Ranma walked to the closet and peered inside. "It'll hardly be a battle." She said with amusement. The inside of the closet was packed to the brim with a variety of clothes. So long as you wanted a dress of some sort.

"I do have a couple outfits I found." Jasmine said, gesturing to the bed. "I doubt they're to your taste, but…"

"There's not much in here that would be in the first place." Ranma finished as she looked to the bed. Laying across the pillows was a red, backless, mini dress. Well it was something she could fight in, but it was also something she'd never willingly put on.

Likewise she dismissed the next two outfits she lay eyes on. One was a long dress in the style of a qipao with a slit up one side to allow more freedom of movement, the other was… Well it covered less than the mini-dress and she'd say no more.

"Where did that even come from?" She asked curiously.

Jasmine shrugged. "There have been strange fads even within my lifetime… And some of the things I've seen the Exalted Dynasts wearing is… Hm. Well they look amazing, but I'd never be willing to wear even half the stuff they consider appropriate." She said.

Privately Ranma pushed that little factoid to the back of her mind with a grimace as she went back to examining the meager selection of clothes. Most she dismissed, but there were a couple that might work. One that stood out was less of a dress, and more of a robe like a kimono.

She picked it up walked over to the mirror where she held it up. It reached to around her knees and, unlike a proper kimono, was only made of a single layer of cloth. It wasn't the same styling as a yukata either. The rich dark green and gold thread trimming also contrasted well.

She glanced back at the pile of clothing and the closet. There really wasn't a better choice, or at least not a choice she was willing to wear.

"I think it would look good on you." Jasmine said as she stepped up holding a brown sash that was decorated in gold embroidery. "Do you want to try it on?"

Ranma looked at it in the mirror one last time and sighed. It wasn't pants and a shirt, but it also wasn't some fancy girly ballroom dress. It was basically a kimono, and she'd worn girl's kimonos before. "Sure." She said.

Fifteen minutes later she was standing in front of the full length mirror again picking at the kimono-esque outfit. Well it fit her, quite flatteringly well to though she was sure it had been made for someone less… gifted than she was. Significantly so. They'd had to accept a rather generous bit of cleavage, a bit more than Ranma was comfortably with to be honest, but it worked.

Somewhere they had dug out a pair of slippers in the style she prefered, even if they were, once again, green and embroidered with golden thread.

For a moment as Ranma twisted and turned to get a look at herself she had trouble recognizing the girl in the mirror as her. She brushed that feeling aside after a moment of indecision. It was a feeling she'd gotten used to over the last couple years, and it only rarely reared its head these days.

"It looks good on you milady." Juniper said before bowing. "Sorry for screwing up."

Ranma sighed, looking down for a moment before looking up at the taller girl. "It's fine. Just, don't do it again alright?" She said.

"Yes, milady." Juniper said with another bow.

"And stop calling me milady." Ranma added.

"Of course… Lady Saotome." Jasmine said with an amused smile as Ranma shot her an annoyed look.

The redhead sighed. "Fine. I guess we're done here?"

"Unless you wish for us to help you with make-up?" Juniper offered, only to giggle at the look of disgust on Ranma's face. "I will take that as a no then."

"Definitely not." Ranma said before giving both of them a honest grateful smile. "I should head down then. Which way out?"

"Take the other door in the sitting room, then right down the hall will lead you to the main staircase." Jasmine said. Saying her thanks Ranma made a beeline out the door.

She sighed loudly as she closed the door into the hallway behind her. She pulled the end of her braid from behind her back and gave the dragon clasp a long suffering look. "If it's not one thing tonight it's another." She groused before flipping it back over her shoulder and making her way towards the staircase.

"Locked curses, overly helpful servants girls, and only dresses for miles." She continued quietly, "Just a normal, ordinary night in Nerima ain't it." As she neared the staircase she could hear a commotion down below. "And now there's something else." Because of course the night wouldn't end quietly.

A glance over the balcony told her nothing since the third floor staircase crossed right in front of her vision. Deciding speed was more important she vaulted over the side of the banister and bounced off the railing below, repeating the action until she landed, without so much as a sound, on the landing between the first and second floors.

Rising from the crouch the landing had forced her into she stared down at the scene in the main hall. Five women in JGSDF uniforms were standing in a semi-circle around the entrance and behind them were two people that Ranma was not pleased to see.

It would be a cold day in hell before she forgot the face of the guy who'd tried, and succeeded, in impersonating him to his mother. Nor was she liable to forget the most psycho of her would be suitors.

No as Ranma glared down at the assembled group of JGSDF personnel she was not happy in the least to she Kumon Ryu standing at their front, or Kuno Kodachi trying to hide behind him.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Author's note: Here's 14k words for your reading enjoyment. Or at least I hope you enjoyed it. I swear this chapter has given me so much trouble. I suspect I've probably lost at least some of you with this chapter. Ranma is going to be a girl for a lot of this story, probably most of it. I've got plot reasons, and personal ones for that choice.

Anyway let me know what you think, poke holes in my grammar, my characterizations, anything really. Just let me know how to fix it so I can avoid making the same mistakes.

Speaking of characterizations, Lockler. Really loving writing that guy, he just sorta writes himself.


	5. Chapter 5

The entrance hall of the Scintillating River Palace was quite impressive to Kodachi as she walked in. It wasn't a traditional Japanese style, but it was still an opulent display of wealth, especially compared to the rest of the city.

As the rest of their group marched in behind them the noise of boots on marble tile echoed loudly in the hall. "HELLO!" Ryu called, "Anyone here?" The shout rebounded off the walls and floor, echoing within the stone tiled chamber.

After a moment a door down one of the hallways leading off the main hall opened and a blue haired young woman stuck her head out. Seeing them she walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her, and down the hallway towards them.

"Hello, I assume you're the guests that Setarial told us to expect?" She asked.

"Depends, is this the River Palace?" Ryu asked, stepping forward.

"Depends, by that do you mean the Scintillating River Palace and not the mist town house of ill-repute with a deceptively similar name?" The young woman replied airily.

"That would be it, yes." Ryu said, "I take it then that this is-" A clatter from above drew their attention. Bouncing from railing to railing, descending the height of the four story chamber as she did, was a very familiar redhaired young woman.

She landed on the first landing of the staircase, arms outstretched and on one knee, with only the slightest whisper of sound. Her elegant, if a bit short, kimono swirled about her knees as she stood and glared at the two of them. Her hair shone in the light of the hall, the glittering strands of gold woven in making her appear, to the young kuno, to be framed by the rising sun.

Caught unprepared, and frankly off guard, Kodachi shuffled behind Ryu in an effort to avoid the glare Ranma was shooting them. She held little hope that the soldier would be able to do anything if Ranma simply decided to toss them all out of the building.

This was not how Kodachi had wanted to meet Ranma. She still wasn't sure how she had planned to meet with the gender-switching young man she had become so infatuated with, or how she intended to make sufficient apology for her past actions. This though, was not in anyway remotely what she had hoped for, clad as she was in the tattered remains of what was once an expensive yukata and surrounded by armed soldiers.

Judging by the strength of the redhead's glare upon seeing her this meeting was an unwanted annoyance after a long day. While a small part of Kodachi found that thought very much offensive, the larger part of her couldn't entirely fault the other girl's reaction. After all, she would have shared it not even twelve hours earlier.

Kumon coughed into his hand awkwardly. "Hello Ranma." He said with more confidence than Kodachi was feeling. "Nice entrance." When she simply continued glaring at him he shifted nervously. "I'm here for the meeting this Setarial has called."

"And her?" Ranma asked, a flicker of golden light beginning to form on her forehead.

"A monk tried to kill her, called her Anathema." Ryu said, "I want to know why."

Ranma's eyes flickered to her for an instant before easing up on the glare ever so slightly. "I had the entire garrison up here try to kill me." She said, walking down the stairs. Kodachi could see the forced stiffness in her movements that belied just how much anger was currently being held back. Such restraint was admirable, and for a moment Kodachi blushed before silently reprimanding herself. Such thoughts had led to her problems before, she needed to be better than her desires now.

"Not that it did all that much." The young blue-haired woman observed as she joined the them in the entrance hall. "I'm sure you saw the results of those efforts outside."

"It honestly looks like you had less luck than I did some months back." Ryu said wryly, sending a nervous look to Ranma. Kodachi sent Ryu her own curious look. Encountering someone who had made at least an attempt on Ranma wasn't entirely unusual, though few were able to achieve even a small measure of success.

"You are claiming to have done better than several thousand men, and several dozen Dragon-Blooded?" The young woman was incredulous.

Ranma snorted. "He was an interesting challenge." She snarked, "Certainly better than anyone your lot tried to use." One hand toyed with the end of her braid, and for a moment Kodachi spotted a flicker of gold being run between her delicate fingers. She wondered where Ranma had found the strands of gold that now decorated her hair. The redhead's mode of dress was also a rather unusual departure from her normal preferences. She normally preferred, to Kodachi's memories, a more neutral or masculine style.

Ryu's response interrupted Kodachi's wandering mind. "I defeated you. Twice." Ryu said, puffing up.

"You nearly killed me twice." Ranma said, fixing her glare on him again. "I defeated you completely in the third fight, and unlike you I've been training. Unless you're more honourless than you let on before you haven't even touched the Yamasen-Ken since, have you?"

"I have kept to our deal." Ryu said, he shot Kodachi a glance out of the corner of his eye. "Even when I shouldn't've."

Ranma's eye followed his glance to her and she gulped as the ice cold blue sapphires focused on her for a moment. She shuffled behind Ryu just a bit more out of nervousness. "You said someone tried to kill Kodachi? I figured she'd be more than able to handle herself. Especially against this lot." Ranma asked.

"I-" Kodachi started, she flinched as Ranma's gaze swiveled back to her. "I was unconscious for most of the fight."

"She dropped out of the sky with enough force to crater the cobblestone street." Ryu added, "That monk, Junlein, found her a few seconds later. If I hadn't been there she'd have died before she could wake up."

The look in Ranma's eyes softened to a more understanding look and the redhead sighed, rubbing her forehead as she did. "You said Junlein?" The blue-haired young woman asked.

"Nellens Junlein was what he called himself." Ryu said, crossing his arms. "He was a good fighter. There's not going to be much trouble about this, is there?"

The young woman sighed. "Among some people there will be. However his death will make the next few hours somewhat easier to handle since we won't have to be ready for an Immaculate Monk to invite himself into the debate." She said grimly.

"By invite, you mean attack right?" Ranma asked dryly.

"Yes. Junlein was lenient by the standards of the Immaculate Order, but he would have felt it his duty to interfere if he heard of what Setarial plans tonight." She said.

"And what does Setarial plan?" Ryu asked pointedly.

"She intends to explain at the meeting." Seeing their less than impressed expressions she sighed. "Even if I knew all her plans I would still prefer to hold back until the meeting is called. It saves on repeating explanations."

"You offered to answer my questions earlier." Ranma pointed out, "Or was that a lie Lily?"

"I have special instructions regarding you." Lily replied stiffly. Kodachi doubted that she liked the accusation she was lying. "I am at your service for the duration of the day."

"Uh huh." Ranma's expression was openly suspicious. "Given how eager you were to start that clusterfuck earlier-"

Lily flushed brilliantly. "The situation has changed since then." She insisted, crossing her arms under her breasts.

"How has it changed, and what happened up here?" Ryu asked pointedly.

Lily sent a glance to Ranma who merely narrowed her glare. "I-"

"So this is the source of the voices I've heard." Everyone turned to find a large woman in a very expensive looking dress descending the staircase from the second floor. "I do hope you enjoyed the bathing facilities." She said to Ranma.

"Rather overboard for one person." Ranma replied sardonically.

"By the standards of the Realm our Palace is very much a small vacation home for one of the Empress' stature." The woman said with a mysterious smile as she reached the tiled floor of the entrance hall. "Welcome to the Scintillating River Palace." She bowed to Ryu and the rest. "I am Lady Bretegani Wild Petal. With my husband indisposed I am the Steward of our humble Palace. Be welcome Sirs and Ladies."

"Thank you, Lady Bretegani. It is a beautiful Palace." Ryu replied, he and the rest bowed in return. "I am Second Lieutenant Kumon Ryu of the Japanese Self-Defence Force."

"For a self-defence force you are far from home." Lady Bretegani noted.

"Tonight's incident is in no way indicative of our normal operations madam." Ryu said, "It has been a very unusual evening."

"For more than just you." She replied before glancing towards Lily. "The preparations for the meeting are almost complete. I've had one of the smaller dining hall prepared as requested."

"Excellent." Lily smiled, "Should I begin shepherding the Goddess' guests to the dining hall?" She asked.

"It would not be a bad idea." The Stewardess said.

Ranma sighed before looking to Lily. "Where's Ryouga?" She asked.

"Already waiting in the hall." Lady Bretegani replied, "He finished with his own bath some time ago." Ranma rolled her eyes and hmmed, but said nothing.

Lady Bretegani turned back to Kodachi and tutted. "Someone has obviously had a rough evening." She said as she took a moment to look her over with a critical eye that had Kodachi shifting nervously. While her kimono was once an example of exceptional quality and taste, the rough landing and trip through the streets had left it little more than a tattered shroud. If it weren't for the leotard she wore underneath she would be having significantly worse modesty issues than she was. "If we had more time I would recommend a bath, however we are pressed for time and as such I suppose new clothing will have to suffice."

Kodachi perked up at that. "I would be appreciative of any aid you might be willing to offer in the matter." She said with a slight bow.

"We are not short of noble women's clothing if nothing else." She replied before she walked over to the stairs and shouted up them. "JASMINE! JUNIPER! ANOTHER FOR YOUR CARE!"

"Be down in a moment, milady!" A soft voice called back. A minute or two passed, during which Lady Bretegani's fingers tapped impatiently on the bannister, before a pair of twin brown haired girls came rushing down the stairs, smoothing their hair and tugging at the ties of their elegant black maid's dresses.

"You called, milady?" They chorused as they reached the landing.

Bretegani steered Kodachi out of the group. "This young lady requires clothing, and hair styling. Unfortunately you only have a bit over a half hour, so be quick about it." She instructed.

They bowed low. "Yes Milady Bretegani." They chorused again as they gestured up the stairs. "This way miss…?"

"Kuno Kodachi." She replied as she climbed the stairs.

"Be quick girls." The Stewardess reminded them.

"We shall milady!"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter Five: Discussions of Broken Fate

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma watched Kodachi being led away up the stairs, along with one of the JSDF women, and sighed softly. Her eyes flickered towards Ryu. Seeing the pair of them had nearly spelt the end of her self-control. It had been a close thing, but she supposed throwing them out the door and into the exterior wall wouldn't be a… productive idea. Regardless of how much she'd enjoy it.

Still after everything the last thing she needed to deal with was one of her most lethal adversaries ever, and a girl who couldn't understand Jusenkyo if she'd been dunked in it. Only… She hadn't acted like normal. The young Kuno was the quintessential example of an arrogant, impulsive, and generally all-around unpleasant noblewoman. Her ego could fill a palace and still spill out into the streets, and her laugh was the sort of thing that small children had nightmares about. Only that wasn't the girl she'd just met.

Whatever had happened to the young Kuno since she had last seen her it seemed to have left a notable mark on her. Quiet where once she would be boastful. She flinched when she would have once glared with anger, or puffed up with pride. Not even a single arrogant laugh, possibly a record for Kodachi.

"Now," Lady Bretegani began as she turned back to the rest of them, "Allow me to show you to the dining hall."

"Please, lead on." Ryu said with a slight bow.

Bretegani smiled and returned the bow as she turned away. "This way please." She said. She led them up the first flight of stairs and down the left, West Ranma realized, hallway. The hallway was tiled in marble and was somewhat wider than the other hallways Ranma had been down that evening. Than combined with the open archways that led into sitting rooms on either side gave her the impression that this area was intended for hosting small get togethers more than anything else.

Half-way down the hallway the archways and sliding doors disappeared along one side and they quickly came upon a set of heavy oak doors. "Here we are Honoured Guests." Lady Bretegani said with a bow. "I have arranged for some snacks to be brought up if any of you wish for something to eat." She added.

"Thank you Lady Bretegani. My people will enjoy having something to eat after the rather unexpected events of last night." Ryu said with a slight bow of his own.

"You are welcome Lieutenant. I'm afraid I must leave you for the moment however, there are still some last minute arrangements to be made." The older woman replied.

"We should be fine. Thank you for your assistance." Ryu said with a smile.

"It has been no trouble Lieutenant. I will return shortly." She said before hurrying off.

Ryu turned to an older man who had been standing quietly near the back of the group. "Sergeant, guard detail."

"Yes sir." He stepped forward, "Corporal Kita leave two out here and post the rest, yourself included, inside."

"Sir, yes sir." One of the women saluted and quickly motioned for a pair to take up guard on the door before leading the rest inside.

Ranma watched them go, somewhat bemused, and followed the group headed inside. Behind she heard Ryu say, "Sergeant, come with me for a moment please." She put it aside as she entered the dining hall.

The dining hall was somewhat bigger than Ranma had expected it to be after Lady Bretegani's description of it as 'small'. Of course perception was dependent on perspective, and from the Steward's point of view it probably was quite small. The far wall had several tall windows that were even then letting in the first glimmers of light through their curtains. The long table that dominated the center of the room was still more than capable of seating fifty people comfortably. As it was there were a couple of people sitting down already.

The Corporal in charge of the soldiers had taken a seat down near the far end while Ryouga was a ways up the table leaning back in his chair, seemingly trying to catch a nap in however few minutes they had left before the meeting. Unlike Ranma he seemed to have gotten clothing that matched his preferences, though she had to admit the sight of him in a dress would have been amusing. Black slacks, more refined than what he usually wore, and a long sleeved green shirt with a loose brown leather vest thrown over top.

She rolled her eyes. It figured that he was taking a nap. She strolled around the table and carelessly poked him in the forehead. He groaned and yawned sleepily before shaking his head and looking around. He blinked dully as he caught sight of her.

"Ranma?" He asked looking her up and down.

"Seen any other redheads around here?" She quipped as she took the seat next to him. He continued to stare at her for a moment.

"Why the hell are you still a girl?" He asked in a low voice, leaning against the table on one elbow.

She leaned closer and kept her voice low as she replied, "The curse isn't working." He blinked and she continued, "No I don't know why, but I bet it's related to whatever brought us here."

"Well that… sucks. A lot." He muttered and Ranma could already see pity appearing in his eyes.

"Yeah it sucks. Just have to figure out what happened then I'll go back to being a guy." She snapped, her voice rising a little.

Ryouga frowned and sat back. He appeared thoughtful for a minute then said,"Do you suppose this mean my curse is gone?"

Ranma bit back a reproachful look. Of course the first thing he thought about was his curse. After a few tense moments she sighed. "We can test that later. Unless you want to spend this meeting soaking wet?" She asked sarcastically.

He smirked back at her. "I can wait a bit." He replied with a shrug.

A pair of door at the far end of the hall opposite them swung open and several servants began to wheel several small carts inside, which were quickly organized along the wall. Small plates of cheeses, smoked meats and various other easy to snack on foods could be seen.

Ranma's stomach growled and she blushed. "At least we'll have something to do while waiting." She said as she stood. It had been a long night and a long time since she had last eaten. They had missed lunch because of this whole mess.

"It would be a shame to let it go to waste." Ryouga agreed as the two of them headed for the buffet table.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ryu led Akiyama down the hall to one of the small sitting rooms they had passed on their way to the meeting room. As they entered he slid the oak door shut behind them. Sergeant Akiyama came to attention in the center of the room waiting for him to begin.

"At ease Sergeant." Ryu said gesturing to one of several chairs scattered about the room. "Please take a seat. I need some advice."

The older man fell out of his ready stance but continued to stand. "This isn't something you could ask without heading off into unknown territory?" He asked, a hint of reproach in his voice.

Ryu waved it off. "It's about Saotome." He said, finding a chair for himself.

"Of course it is." Akiyama sighed before going to lean against the wall next to the doorway. "There's more to your history then you let on I take it? You never mentioned attempted murder before."

The younger man winced. "That was… I'd call it the foolishness of youth, but it's only been a little over seven months I guess." He confessed nervously.

"Hmmm…" Akiyama fixed his superior with an annoyed look.

Ryu sighed. "I fucked up alright." He said, "I'll tell you everything when we actually have time. For the moment I just need some advice on how to deal with him. Her. Whatever." He groaned. Trying to figure out pronouns for Ranma got annoying fast.

"Well she doesn't seem happy to see you. Or us for that matter." Akiyama observed.

"No she doesn't." Ryu agreed, "We parted ways… not amicably, but Ranma definitely had the upper hand after everything was said and done. I'd sworn off using the Yama-sen Ken and left. That was it."

The older man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Apparently she holds a grudge. Who would have thought that after trying to kill her."

Ryu sighed. "I may have also threatened people she cared for." He admitted.

"... I am glad that you at least understand just how much your history is potentially going to going to screw us over… sir." Akiyama said dryly, bringing yet another wince from his superior.

"I-" The Lieutenant sighed. "She's a lot less happy to see me than I'd hoped. I mean I wasn't expecting a hug and 'great to see you man', but she was practically ready to thrown me, and the rest of us, out the front door."

"And probably through the fortress wall while she was at it." Akiyama noted calmly. She had seemed particularly angry but… "She seems angry, but I got the feeling it wasn't focus on just us. We merely had the bad timing to show up when she was in a bad mood." He noted.

"You think?" Ryu asked.

"Most likely." Akiyama responded, "Still this does suggest some issues with our plan going into this."

Ryu nodded. "That's what I was thinking, that's why I wanted to talk to you. Our plan was to try and get her to co-operate with us and hopefully get whatever mess that started this whole thing sorted out quickly…" He trailed off.

"However you doubt she'll be will to work with us because of your history together." The Sergeant noted.

"Exactly, and I have no idea how to fix it short of tossing what's left of my pride off the nearest cliff and groveling at her feet like a beaten dog." Ryu said, running a hand through his hair.

Akiyama snorted. "Keep what's left of your pride. I doubt she'd respect you enough to follow orders after that." He said, drumming his fingers against the wall as he thought.

"No, no she wouldn't." Ryu agreed softly. Such an action was too much like Genma or Mr. Tendo… "I don't think our original plan is workable."

"It was little more than a guideline anyway so that's no surprise." His second-in-command waved off his concern. "Getting her to work with us might not be possible, but what about us working with her?"

"What?" Ryu asked, confused.

Akiyama paused as he gathered this thoughts. "When that Raven came by the only ones mentioned there the Dawn, Ranma; the Lunar, who we still haven't met; and the Zenith, Miss Kuno. We were mentioned as a group and we knew of the Magistrate, the Lady Steward, and possibly one more who may be joining this meeting besides the 'Goddess' who is hosting it." He summarized.

He took a pull from his canteen and continued, "The Magistrate wasn't important enough to mention, neither was the Steward. We were mentioned as part of the invite, but only as a group. The only ones who were named specifically were Ranma, the Lunar, and Miss Kuno. Ranma and this Lunar I can understand. They apparently broke the back of this City's military by themselves. Miss Kuno however is wanted just because she is this… Zenith. Just as Ranma is The Dawn. As this unknown third is the Lunar. Whatever this meeting is about I have no doubt that it is not us, but them whom this Goddess is focused on. We are notable because of our association with Miss Kuno, nothing more."

Ryu sat back and turned over what Akiyama had said for a few minutes before sighing. "All of this is just speculation really." He said, rubbing his forehead as he could feel a headache building. "But assuming that you're right and we're just a sideshow at best, what do you suggest?"

"Our duty is to our soldiers and to the civilians who have been caught up in this mess." Akiyama started, getting an agreeing nod from his superior, "We need to keep that in mind no matter what comes up, but we need to think of ourselves as less a key piece and more of a minor player. We've got weight. It's entirely possible that we'll be the single largest force in the city once the Realm's forces pull out, but at the same time we both know how little value our troops have compared to even Miss Kuno when she is in fighting form."

"So to make our numbers mean something you're thinking we might be forced to back someone in these upcoming discussions?" Ryu guessed.

"It's a distinct possibility." His 2IC noted.

The Lieutenant sighed and forced himself to his feet, stretching as he did. He noted the faint outline of brownish light that was washing out the colour of the wall around the Sergeant. "Miss Kuno is a visible mess after whatever brought us here. Ranma hates her as well. We know nothing of the Lunar and Ranma hates us. Fuck." He deadpanned the curse as he massaged his forehead again.

"Hates her is a bit strong I feel." Akiyama noted, "She seemed almost worried for a moment when you brought up she had been attacked."

Ryu had to give the Sergeant that point. The annoyance and anger at them had diminished visibly when he'd dropped that little piece of information. "Well Ranma thinks she's annoying at the least, so it's still more unwelcomed tension. I guess we'll just have to wing it won't we?"

"Ito won't be too happy." Akiyama noted.

"Well fuck Ito. I've been less than impressed by him so far." Ryu said bluntly, "He keep trying to piss off the majority of our soldiers." The man's misogynist attitude was already grating on a lot of the JSDF soldiers, himself included.

Akiyama shrugged. "He is who he is." He said.

"Well he's going to find a boot up his ass unless he learns to adapt." Ryu responded before sighing. "We need to get back. Come on Sergeant, back on the clock."

"Sir, yes sir." Akiyama responded with a picture perfect salute before sliding the door open and stepping out, his head swivelling about for threats.

Ryu refrained from rolling his eyes as he followed his, entirely too paranoid, 2IC down the hall.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma nibbled a piece of cheese from the plate she had amassed earlier. Most of it was gone, the victim of her usual appetite, but there was enough left to nibble on for a while. Next to her Ryouga had gone back to trying to take a nap, something she was certainly tempted to do herself. Still Ryu and his Sergeant had returned a few minutes previously, and taken up seats directly across from her, and with them that only left Lily, her companion, Kodachi and the Goddess herself as the only people who had yet to arrive.

She finished the small square of cheese and reached for another as the main door opened once again to admit Lily, who was carrying a wrapped bundle, and her wounded companion who was being aided by that soldier from earlier… Lonlen? Locklon? Maybe Lockler? Something like that anyway.

"My apologies for the delay." Lily said offered the room with a slight bow. "I had to retrieve several important items from the battlefield before they could be looted by scavengers." She set the bundle of cloth down on the table with a slight clunk.

"I can assume we'll be starting shortly then?" Ryu asked, pre-empting Ranma's own response.

Lily nodded. "Once the last of your companions arrives we will begin." She said, sliding into a seat on the left hand of the end of the table where they had all congregated. Zeriah was eased into the seat next to her.

"Thank you Sergeant." He said to the man who helped him.

"No trouble sir." He replied before stepping back towards the wall.

"Stay and sit." Zeriah said before the man got more than two steps.

"Sir?" The man sounded puzzled.

"Your insight could prove useful. Sit." It was clearly a command, and after moment's hesitation the man sat down beside the injured Magistrate.

"And who is this?" Ryu asked leaning forward to peer passed his own sergeant at the somewhat overweight man in half plate armour.

"He's from the Garrison." Ryouga said, opening his eyes for the first time. "You're Lockler right?"

"Sergeant Ragara Lockler of the Greyfalls Legion." The man replied, drawing up somewhat straight.

"Yeah, he's the guy who sicced the entire barracks on me." Ryouga added nodding.

Ranma blinked. "He's the one who started it with you?" She asked curiously. He certainly didn't appear to be anything impressive to her. Overweight, slightly balding, and with several small scars in his beard he looked like a soldier who would have been better off behind a desk than fighting. Still if what she had seen in the entrance hall was any indication he was at least decent with a blade. For an ordinary man anyway.

"Yeah, took off running pretty damned quick to." Ryouga reminisced, "Took off shouting about Anathema and their evils or some such nonsense." Across the table the sergeant was shrinking into himself nervously, sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"It is what the Immaculate Order teaches when concerning those like you two." Lily said with a shrug as she leaned back in the plush dining chair. She waved a servant over and whispered something Ranma couldn't hear. The young man nodded and headed off.

"What is the Immaculate Order?" Ryu asked, popping a cracker with cheese and sausage into his mouth. "I assume it possesses some influence given that the soldiers I encountered were willing to follow the orders of a Monk."

Lily hesitated then sighed. "Were I dealing with anyone other than yourselves I would be surprised at your complete lack of knowledge concerning the Immaculate Order. Even the laymen of the threshold know rumours of it." She said drumming her fingers on the table. "It is difficult to know where to start, so much about them is tied into information than you and yours completely lack.

"The beginning helps." Ranma quipped, popping a cheese square into her mouth with a cheeky grin as the other woman shot an exasperated look at her.

"Then perhaps the beginning is where we should start." Zeriah said as the young servant returned and placed two wine glasses and a bottle next to the two magistrates. Lily smiled, thanked the servant, and popped the cork off the bottle without a second thought.

Everyone blinked and stared as she filled her glass then half drained it with a satisfied sigh. "Wine? This early?" Ryu asked, voicing the thoughts of most of the table.

Lily shot him an annoyed look as she took a deliberately loud sip of wine. "I have been up for nearly thirty-six hours, watched a single girl utterly thrash the standing strength of an entire Satrap and am participating in a conference that would have the entire Immaculate Order baying for my head." She gave the wine an appreciative look before draining the glass. "If you think I am continuing this course of action entirely sober I'm afraid you are mistaken."

Zeriah sighed and poured a small amount into his own glass. Taking a sip he nodded his own appreciation. "Drinking habits aside," He began, "Allow me to explain what we do know of the Immaculate Orders origins."

Ranma leaned back, propping her plate of rapidly disappearing snacks on her knee. Hopefully it wasn't going to be as boring as her mother's Genealogy lecture yesterday, but even if it was at least it might have some use. Know your enemy and… she couldn't remember the rest of the line.

"According to the Immaculate Order themselves their history began around fifteen hundred years ago, at the beginning of the lower first age during the rise of the Shogunate." Ranma saw more than one person from Japan mouth the familiar word to themselves. "I personally know very little about that period, at least as it pertains to the Immaculate Order. Few outside the order do or care enough to learn. It has been the religious arm of the Realm since its inception under the Scarlet Empress who ruled until her disappearance five years ago. We'll come back to that later I imagine."

He sipped from his glass and continued, "The Immaculate Order teaches that at the end of the High First Age five Dragonblooded warriors known as the Immaculate Dragons overthrew the tyrannical reign of the Anathema and ushered in the age of the Shogunate. Known as Mela, Dragon of Air; Pasiap, Dragon of Earth; Hesiesh, Dragon of Fire; Daana'd, Dragon of Water; and Sextes Jylis, Dragon of Wood. It is said that all Dragonblooded are descended from them, and that is why the Dragonblooded are to rule Creation. Or so it is taught." He swirled the glass of wine and sipped once more.

"And Anathema are…?" Ranma prompted. The word had been thrown at her enough times over the last twelve hours she really wanted to know what they meant by it, though she doubted it was anything nice. Even the connotations of something being 'anathema' were rather clear to her already. Still it seemed to be a bit more specific in this case.

"The Immaculate Order teaches that they are individuals of great power, skill or potential who are weak in spirit and virtue who, in their weakness and sin, are taken over by demons who have stolen power from the heavens. They are said to worship dark gods, cloud the minds of men so as to make them perform horrific deeds, and themselves perform acts of horrid depravity and perversion."

Ranma and Ryouga exchanged a look. It was like Kuno had created a religion… "I don't feel like I've been possessed." She quipped to Ryouga, who snorted.

"I suppose you'd be an expert on that?" He said with a raised eyebrow. She scowled.

"I was asleep when that happened."

"All I'm hearing is excuses." Ranma huffed and turned back to the Magistrates, both of whom were giving the two of them with rather blasé expressions.

"May I continue?" Zeriah asked rhetorically. Ranma waved him on with a roll of her eyes. "Very well. Amongst the many duties of the Immaculate Order foremost is the continued suppression of any new Anathema and the regulating the interactions between mortals and gods so as to prevent them from enslaving mortal."

"Enslaving?" Ryu asked.

"Yes. Mortals are exceptionally vulnerable to the powers of gods and very easily fall under the sway of those with wicked intentions. Dragonblooded are far less susceptible to their tricks. Thus it is the Immaculate Order who is responsible for ensuring that each god receives their fair due, worship, for their role in maintaining the order of the world… I imagine such things are different where you come from?" Zeriah prompted as he slid his empty wineglass towards Lily, who filled it without looking as she nursed her third glass.

Ryu, Ranma and Ryouga all exchanged looks. Ranma sighed. "Gods… don't normally get involved in day to day things. Saffron might have been one, but I'm not entirely sure." She said.

"You think he was?" Ryouga asked thoughtfully.

She shrugged and adjusted the shoulders of her kimono. "It would explain a bit about how he came back after I ripped him to teeny tiny pieces." She said.

"Gods do not usually stay dead unless killed in their sanctum." Lily noted, "There are methods, and exceptions, but coming back from being killed is a quite normal when dealing with gods."

"Hmm.." Ranma frowned. "Well he was also a member of the phoenix tribe so turning into an egg after death might be normal with them for all I know."

"An egg?" Zeriah asked.

"Yeah, about this big." She held her hand out to about the size of an overly large watermelon.

"He threw around a lot of fire and regenerated pretty damned quick as well." Ryouga noted.

"Where was this?" Ryu asked, drawing attention. "We've got records of most of the stuff that goes on in Nerima, but this is news."

Ranma shrugged. "China. First time I had to kill someone. Mind you he didn't stay dead, but there ya go." She said. Saffron had been the hardest and most dangerous fight of her life by far, and very nearly her last one as well. Saffron was physically weak, but his firepower, quite literal as it was, and his regeneration made him nearly unstoppable. She'd be the first to say it was only because of luck that none of them died.

"Sounds more like an Elemental than a god, but it is said that the forms of the Gods are as varied as the matters in which they deal." Zeriah noted, "Still I believe you can understand why such interactions are normally dealt with by those equipped to handle such opponents. Should god with more ambition than morals treat with mortals they may attempt to solicit more worship than their actions and station truly warrant. Subverting the wills of mortals in the doing."

"And that is the primary duty of the Immaculate Order?" Ryu asked.

"As far as day to day affairs go, yes." Zeriah said, "They have a dedicated group known as the Wyld Hunt who deal with Anathema and those who deal with them. Fortunately for you the local chapter is no longer an issue."

Before Ranma could ask why the doors once again opened, this time to admit a much tidier and well dressed Kuno Kodachi and her bodyguard. She had apparently opted for one of the many dresses that Ranma has ignored simply because they were too impractical to wear into a fight. Still the long curve hugging black dress and shawl suited her quite well. Her hair was likewise less ruffled than before and was pulled back into a proper ponytail.

She stopped and bowed as she realized all eyes had come to stare at her rather hurried entrance. "My apologies, I hope I am not late for this?" She asked hesitantly. She flinched slightly as Ranma found her eyes.

The redhead frowned at the reaction and resolved that maybe she needed to speak with her normally less than welcome suitor at some point after this meeting. Flinching at every little glance was not normal for her in the least and could not mean anything good. "You're fine." She said, "We're still waiting on our host."

A soft cough at the head of the table pulled the attention of everyone in the room like a compass needle pointing north. Standing on the table between Lily and the empty seat at the head of the table was the Raven, Leitleen, who had invited them earlier.

"If you would please be seated we can begin this meeting in earnest now." The Raven said, gesturing to the spot next to Ryu with one wing. Taking the hint Kodachi quickly seated herself as her minder took up a spot along the wall with the rest of her unit. Leitleen cleared her throat. "Welcome everyone to the Scintillating River Palace, my mistress is pleased that you all indeed decided to join us. She wishes to extend her apologies for the delay." The raven bowed low, wings extending far enough that not even Ranma, on the other side of the table, was able to see the chair at the head. "May I present my Mistress Lady Setarial, Goddess of Greyfalls and Lady of the Glittering Eastern Lights." With a flourish she swept her wings up, revealing the now occupied seat, and stepped aside.

Ranma stared speechless for a moment as she looked at the woman seated in the chair. She was tall, lithe and yet had more curves then she would have expected. Her hair, bound in an incredibly elaborate braid that spilled out behind her pointed ears, was darker than the night sky itself yet glittered with the barely perceptible twinkle of thousands of tiny crimson and gold kimono hung off her shoulders, exposing tantalizing amounts of tan skin as well as the tops of her breasts. Her hands were folded politely in her lap even as she scanned the table with an intense gaze and a smile that seemed to say many things, and nothing at the same time.

"Welcome everyone." Her voice was clear like the night sky as she spoke, containing a slight unnatural yet alluringly husky echo. "I apologize for the delay. When I said dawn I had intended this meeting to be then, however events have led to delays for many of us and I would rather we all start at the same time rather than repeat explanations and waste our valuable time."

Ranma blinked as the words washed over her and shook her head to clear it. She could see what Zeriah meant about subverting people's wills. If other gods possessed even a fraction of the presence this Goddess seemed to exert casually then ordinary people were probably little more than putty in their hands. It was almost disturbing in a way.

"All of you have questions." The Goddess continued, "Tonight has been confusing for all of us I imagine, though I will admit even I do not know more than a little of the happenings of this last night of Calibration." Another term to ask about later, Ranma noted. "It is my hope that between us me might come to understand them and avoid further conflict within my city."

"Your city?" Kodachi asked, showing remarkable resilience to the Goddess's presence.

Setarial's smile became genuine. "Yes, my city. I am the City-Mother of this city and the Goddess of the greater Greyfalls Nation, and will remain such until the later grows sufficiently as to warrant a division of the position. What occurs then is a matter for the future however." She said. "Now, based on what Leitleen has informed me, and from what I have heard with my own ears, all of you are from a place far from here. Perhaps further than many of you realize."

Ranma nodded and spoke up. "Maybe even from another world entirely." She said, drawing a look from Ryu and the other JGSDF members. Ryouga looked unsurprised and even Kodachi appeared unsurprised. They had probably also put the clues together from what they had seen. "This place is just too different."

"Those mechs alone are a bit odd." Ryouga added, splitting the attention of the table between them. "Add that to the stupid amount of magic weapons they were trying to kill us with."

"And the fact this Realm is supposed to be over three thousand kilometers from here." Ranma continued. "I don't see how we can be back home.

Ryu sighed. "If we are in another world," He began, turning back to Setarial, "Do you have any idea how we came to be here?"

Setarial shook her head. "I'm afraid not. My first warning of your arrival was a surge of essence far to the west. There was a flash of light and then. Well some of your companions simply fell from the sky like fallen stars." She said.

"Excuse me," Lily said, "but what is this about other worlds?" She took a sip from her glass. "While I know of other realms, none of them is particularly welcoming to mortals to my understanding."

"Creation has expanded and contracted many times over the ages." Setarial said, "It is not impossible for enough to have survived from one of those many contractions to have evolved into its own world. If it was long enough ago to avoid the ravages of the primordial war it could even help explain the strange feats we have witnessed in our guests. That is, however, purely speculation." Lily nodded and sat back, taking another sip of her wine. Her fifth glass of wine, Ranma noted.

"Primordial War?" Ryu asked after a momentary pause in the conversation.

"An ancient war that ended the times before mankind and brought about the First Age." Setarial replied, "I imagine we will come back to it later in our discussion, so let us put it to the side for the moment." She smiled at Ryu and he nodded his assent. "Thank you. We have a number of matters to discuss, and I'm afraid our time is quite a bit shorter than I would prefer. Let us begin with a quick introduction, so as we all know with whom we are dealing. Lily if you would like to start us off?" She looked to the Magistrate who was sipping her glass of wine.

"Yes of course." She said standing quickly. "I am Whitemane Lily, Magistrate of the Realm and servant to the Scarlet Empress. My companion is Ragara Zeriah," Next to him Lockler seemed to do a bit of a double take. "We are at this moment the ranking representatives of the Realm who are remaining in the city."

"Thank you. Lieutenant I believe it is?" Setarial prompted Ryu, who stood quickly.

"Thank you. Most of you know me, I am Lieutenant Kumon Ryu of the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force. I am currently the ranking officer of those caught up in tonight's events, unless someone of higher rank should come forward." He said, "The man next to me is Sergeant Major Akiyama Daichi also of the JGSDF." He hesitated for a moment before awkwardly sitting back down.

"Thank you Lieutenant." Setarial smiled before turning her attention to Kodachi. "And you are?"

The Kuno rose cautiously from her seat. "Kuno Kodachi of House Kuno. That is all I'm afraid." She said, bowing low. Ranma blinked as she quickly sat back down. The soft statement was rather… Well it was nearly a complete one-eighty from her normal behaviour. She raised speaking to Kodachi up her mental to-do list a few more points.

"Not quite all." Setarial noted, "And our other two guests, who it should be said made quite an entrance. I've never seen anything quite like that tornado you conjured."

Ranma puffed up as she and Ryouga both stood. They shot eachother identical looks of consternation before shrugging. "Not that hard to do when your enemy runs into it like a concussed lemming off a cliff." She said a smirk that provoked a disgruntled look from Lily. "You all know me by now, I'm Saotome Ranma, nice to meet ya."

"And I'm Hibiki Ryouga. Also good to meet you." He said, bowing slightly as he did.

"And so we are introduced properly. Now, let us begin handling the matters before us." Setarial said with a smile. "To start with there is the matter of your arrival and its effect on the Realm's hold on my City and Nation."

"They seemed a bit jumpy when I showed up." Ranma said, shooting a look at Lily who simply drained half her glass in response, while glaring back with half-lidded eyes.

"That is normal for the Realm, and really anywhere when someone comes crashing through the roof." Lily said as she set her empty glass on the table. She gave the mostly empty bottle of wine a look then ignored it.

"There is that, and other things we shall get to." Setarial interjected before Ranma could respond. "Please allow me to finish." Once both of them had settled down she continued. "Greyfalls has an unusual relation with the Realm. Leitleen if you'd please grab a-" Before she could say map the raven had procured and unfolded a large map from _somewhere_ that Ranma couldn't see. Perhaps it was like Mu Tsu's hidden weapons technique. "Thank you." She leaned forward and tapped a point on the far east of the map. "We are here, at the meeting of the Lesser and Greater Rock rivers. The Greater is responsible for the waterfall that gives the city its name."

Reaching a ways down the table she tapped the isle in the center of the map. "This is the Blessed Isle, home of the Realm. Its borders end at the edge of the island but its influence can be felt everywhere in the world. In most directions its influence reaches deep into the regions known as the threshold. The East, however, is different. This area," She outlined a not very small area that started west of greyfalls and went all the way to the ocean. "This is the Scavengers Lands, home to the Hundred Kingdoms and the Confederation of Rivers. The inhabitants have successfully fended off the forces of the Realm several times. They were however forced to cede Greyfalls some centuries back during the last Realm led invasion."

Ryu ran a hand across the map. "I'm having some issues reading the script on this map. It's similar to what we use back home, but…" He trailed off. Ranma had to agree the writing was very similar to Kanji, but… Well it was a bit like dealing with Chinese. It looked familiar, but the meanings were completely different. Still she was reasonably sure it wasn't chinese.

"Interesting." The Goddes mused then sighed. "That is an issue however. Still one we can hopeful solve given time. The point however is the local forces are quite cut off. While troops can be sent the trip is, even with river travel, very long and fraught with risk. Thus Greyfalls is mostly left to its own devices. Greyfalls has never had a local government beyond that of the Realm's Satrap and his local administrators. In truth it has more common with a prefecture than a Satrapy being directly governed unlike other tributaries. While this has had a number of benefits. For example Greyfalls has the best infrastructure of nearly anywhere outside the Realm itself, it also has led to something of a situation in light of last night's events. Lily if you would."

"Thank you Lady Setarial." The Magistrate bowed in her seat to the Goddess before turning to the rest of the room. "The Satrap has decided that the position of the Realm forces in Greyfalls is untenable and has ordered a full pull out by noon today. I imagine the docks are an absolute mess, as are the roads leading down there. While most of the Dragon-blooded were involved in last night's mess they only represent a fraction of the Realm Dynasts who call this city home. Most, if not all, of them are probably heading out of the city with all speed."

Ranma and Ryouga shared a look. They hadn't _meant_ to literally drive out an entire army. Why was it these things just happened to them? Across from them Ryu groaned softly. "I can't image that is a good thing for Greyfalls." He said.

"I'm afraid it couldn't have come at a worse time." Lily said, "The city, and in fact the entire nation, is facing a major threat at the moment."

And so the shoe dropped. Ranma sighed. "Let me guess, someone's invading right now?" She asked blandly.

"Yes actually. A forsaken is leading an army out of Vaneha with the intention of burning the entirety of Greyfalls, the city and the state, to the ground." Lily said.

"What is a forsaken?" Ryu asked.

Setarial spoke before Lily could reply. "The correct term is a Dawn Caste Solar Exalted, and as for what a Dawn Caste, you merely need look to Ranma to see." The redhead in question blinked.

"The same as me?" She asked, getting scrutinizing looks from everyone as she did.

"Similar is perhaps a better description." Setarial allowed, "I will go into what a Solar Exalted is once Lily is finished explaining the situation we find ourselves in. Is that acceptable?" She looked about.

Ranma bit her tongue and nodded along with everyone else. She was _very_ tempted to demand an immediate explanation, but something was telling her that would be a bad idea. Perhaps it was the respect that Setarial seemed to garner without trying, or the raw power that floated in the air about her. Power that made Saffron seem like a bug. No something inside her was telling her to wait. She would get her answers, it would just be a few more minutes. She missed flickers of gold on her forehead.

"Please continue Lily, and use the _correct_ terminology this time." The Goddess admonished.

Lily buried a scowl and nodded. "Very well. The, _Dawn_ caste is currently leading an Army out of Vaneha in our direction. They have been burning and conquering everyone between us and them."

"Submit or die." Akiyama observed.

"Essentially." Lily agreed, "Unfortunately we will not be given the same choice. Greyfalls is the largest city in over a thousand miles and it is a symbol of the Realm. We aren't entirely sure why, but we do know that this _Dawn_ caste hates the Realm. Or at least hates it more than is normal among their kind." She twitched as Setarial hummed at that. "The point is he has stated repeatedly, and openly, that he intends to burn Greyfalls rather than take it. It is a symbol of the Realm's prosperity, and he wishes it gone."

"Shit." Ryu sighed, a sentiment Ranma agreed with.

"We had sent most of our troops out to face him, however…" Lily looked to Leitleen, "They were slaughtered from what I understand."

"Taken entirely by surprise." Leitleen confirmed. "I wasn't able to get a good count in the aftermath, the trees and it being Calibration severely hampered my ability to count, however my most conservative estimates put the army at at least Ten Thousand strong."

"Ten Thousand." Ryouga repeated.

"Yes. That is why the Satrap decided to leave." Lily confirmed, "He might have been able to hold the city, even outnumbered three to one. However you smashed over a third of our manpower and wrecked the fortress walls. You even brought low the two remaining Warstriders. Unless something is done the City will burn."

The 'And it's all your fault' went quietly unsaid, but Ranma wasn't that dense. Beside her Ryouga was sitting back in his chair looking a touch stunned. She didn't blame him. Sure they'd been fighting for their lives, but they might have just, accidentally, run off the only defenders the city had.

"How many people live here?" She asked after a moment.

"Upwards of fifty thousand." Setarial answered, "The Greater Greyfalls region contains nearly five hundred thousand, including the city."

A string of creative curses cut the air as Ryu expressed his displeasure. Other than a bored look from Lily and an amused one from Setarial there was little reaction from the assembled group, especially since most of them agreed. "How long until they get here?" He finally asked.

"It depends." Setarial said, "If he is a solid general we could potentially see elements of his forces in the area in as few as five days. His main army won't take more than two weeks regardless however."

Silence descended on the group for nearly a minute before Setarial spoke again. "I do, however, have a plan. For it to work I require your assistance. That is the foremost reason I have called this meeting."

Looks were exchanged around the table. Ryu leaned forward. "While I can understand the desire to protect the city, and its people, I do not have the manpower to do something like that. Even if this fortress didn't have a gaping hole in the side I know I don't have enough people to man the walls, or enough weapons to hold them." He said.

"Then there's the matter of having compared someone to Saotome here." Akiyama said nodding to her, "The mere thought of fighting someone like her has been a nightmare for our organization for decades. Even if we had a full battalion and our equipment we're not sure we could win."

The corner of Setarial's lip twitched upwards ever so slightly. "It should be reassuring then that I do not expect their General to be even a fraction as powerful as Lady Saotome here." She said. Ranma twitched at the feminine title attached to her name.

"Then what was the point of the comparison?" The sergeant asked.

"The Nature of his power is the same as the power that Lady Saotome and Lady Kuno have recently been invested with." Setarial said. Ranma suppressed a second twitch, and the urge to say something.

"The power of the Unconquered Sun." A voice whispered. It took a moment for them realise that is came from Kodachi. As quiet as she had said it there was an odd look of certainty about her.

"Who?" Ranma asked as the name sparked… something. It sounded familiar to her, yet she was also certain that she'd never heard it before. It was… odd. Very odd, which was never a good thing in her experience.

"Precisely." The Goddess nodded, ignoring Ranma's question as she did. "This is the point where we return to those questions that you had earlier. In order to understand this foe you must understand the power he wields, and in turn understand the power two of you now bear. In order to do that I must explain, to all of you," She looked at the magistrates with a flat gaze, "the true nature of Exaltation. Firstly, however, Lady Saotome,"

"Stop calling me that." She snapped. The Goddess blinked. "I ain't a Lady. Of any kind." She could hear the sound of Ryouga's chair scraping on the floor. A glance proved that he had added an additional half foot between the two of them. Well she was glad to know whose side he was on.

"My apologies." The Goddess demured, bowing slightly in her chair. "Do you have a preference?"

Ranma sighed and rubbed her forehead. She hadn't meant to say that, as much as she felt it, it had just… Come out. Despite her reservations about accidentally insulting a Goddess. "Just- Just call me Ranma alright." She said.

If anything the Goddess seemed a touch amused. "Very well… Ranma. Am I correct in saying you practice Martial Arts?" That received snorts of amusement from nearly everyone at the table, Ranma included.

"I suppose you could say I'm the best at it." The Redhead replied with a smirk. She could almost feel Ryouga's protest at that fact despite the added distance between them.

"How much of what you did this evening was merely Martial Arts?" The Goddess continued.

"All of it. Why?" Ranma asked suspiciously.

"Did you notice anything, out of the ordinary about your skills? Did things come easier for you than is normal?" Setarial asked.

"You mean other than the whole glowing bit?" Ranma quipped, thought her mind was already turning over the question. There had been a few odd things yes. Very odd things.

Setarial chuckled. "Yes other than that."

After a moment's thought Ranma held out one hand, palm upturned, and summoned into it a round glowing sphere of golden ki. For the first time during the meeting Setarial looked genuinely surprised as she looked at the glowing sphere. "I could do this before, but I had to focus on an emotion of some kind. I've been trying to move away from that, but pulling on Ki without emotion is difficult at best. Moment I tried to do it here though. It came to me like I'd been doing it my entire life. Hell all of my ki was practically singing to me during the fight earlier."

"The same thing was happening to me." Ryouga said, leaning forward to examine the sphere. A moment later a glowing silver orb joined the first golden one as he held out his own hand. The twin lights, silver and gold, cast the room in flickering shadows as they temporarily drowned out the light pouring through the uncovered windows.

"The nature of your powers are similar, but different." Setarial noted, "Just as the sun and moon are similar so are the powers you possess. An Exaltation is simply put, power and the ability to realize potential."

Ranma and Ryouga shared a look over their ki spheres before dismissing the pair of them and sitting back. "That is… vague and unhelpful." Ranma noted as she settled back into her chair, popping the last piece of cheese into her mouth as she did.

The Goddess chuckled. "And yet that is the power of an Exaltation. Allow me to elaborate. The Immaculate Order would have you believe that the power of the Solar and Lunar Exalted is stolen from the heavens. The only thing correct about that statement is that their power comes from the heavens. Before the First Age of Man more than five thousand years ago was the age of the Primordials. They who had created the world, and created the gods to ensure is that the world continued to operate as it was designed to. At the same time they created the Unconquered Sun, Sol Invictus; and the others who would become known as the Incarnae, the greatest of the gods. Lunar Goddess of the Moon, and wife of the Unconquered Sun, and the five maidens of fate. Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and Saturn." More than a couple from Japan crooked an eyebrow at those names.

"For a time they, as all the gods did, served the Primordials. In time, however, the Unconquered Sun grew discontent. You see the Primordials may have made Creation, but they cared little for its inhabitants. It was, afterall, little more than a playground for them to amuse themselves with. It was during that age when I first came to being in fact." That got a reaction from everyone, even the two Magistrates.

"I've never heard of a god so ancient." Zeriah noted, "Outside of the Incarnae that is."

Setarial bowed slightly. "I have served in many posts over the years, Greyfalls however is one which I chose for myself. An opportunity to get away from the politics of Yu Shan for a few centuries." Zeriah nodded and fell silent. Ranma herself was… doubtful, but something about the Goddess lent truth to her claims of being _older than the Japanese people_. Perhaps it was the way she held herself, a calm regality, or the way her eyes seemed to glitter with the promise that she knew more than she had even hinted towards. Still, she had aged quite well for being over five thousand years old. Maybe it was god-thing.

"I remember that age. The fear of my supplicants as they prayed to me for protection. Of how little I actually could do to protect them, despite my efforts." The creaking of wood could be heard as the goddess took a breath. "The predations of the Primordial's servants we could fight, yet against them we were bound. A magically binding oath, forced upon us at our creation, bade that we never fight the Primordials. Such things bound all of their creations. From the Dragon Kings to the Lintha. From the least Darkin, to the greatest of Gods. We could not fight even as they stole our charges away for games of casual cruelty and horrific sport… Then they created a race that they deemed so weak as to not _need_ the oath. Mankind. Humanity. Weak, hairless apes they thought. Good for providing prayer and little else. They had potential, yet lived lives short enough to never realize it. I was not there at the beginning, when The Unconquered Sun conspired with Luna. I was not there when they consulted with Autochthon, the Great Maker. The one on whom all the other Primordials looked down upon. I was not there when they conspired with Gaea and the five Elemental Dragons. Yet I was witness to what their efforts bore. Exaltation.."

She cast her gaze about the room, not one person seemed able to find the words, or will, required to interrupt her. "The power of the Greatest Gods could match that of their makers, yet they themselves could not wield it against them. None could, except one race. Lowly in the eyes of the primordials, yet with potential untapped. The Gods chose the lowliest race in Creation, mankind, and empowered them with the might to cast down even those who had created the world. With the aid of Autochthon they forged seven hundred Exaltations from shards of their own power. Three Hundred Solar, each bonded to one of the three hundred Lunar, and an additional Twenty for each for the Maidens of Fate. To provide them with an army they bade the Five Elemental Dragons bless ten thousand mortals with the power of the Dragons in a lesser, yet more prolific, form of Exaltation. This Exalted Host Cast down the Primordials and ushered in the First Age."

She took a deep breath and sighed. "That is the power of Exaltation. It is not realized in a day however. Its bearers do not receive their Exaltation and then begin moving mountains the next day, or even the next week. Such feats are, however, entirely possible given time. Given time they can build wonders unmatched or cast down those who created the world. This is the might you now bear with all its potential, and all its responsibility." Across from Ranma Kodachi shifted in her chair uneasily.

After a few moments Ryu cleared his voice and leaned forward once more. "You're saying that these, exaltations, have the power to… Kill Gods?" He asked.

"To kill those that created the Gods." Setarial said, "Even the least Exalted, those who carry the blood of the Dragon, can kill most gods. The Solar Exalted, however, can strike down even the creators of the world. It is a feat that should have been impossible, yet they made it happen."

"But they were defeated at some point?" Ranma asked.

"Yes. In the Usurpation the Dragon-Blooded rose up in revolt and slaughtered them." Setarial said. She sighed. "Solar Exaltation granted them power unimaginable, yet you must remember that at their heart each Exalted is still human. They can still die as any mortal man will. That is why I ask for your help. The Dawn Caste who comes for this city is only a man. Yes he is a bearer of the Dawn, yet he is young for a Solar. He has yet to fully come into his power. More importantly he lacks the same martial skill you possess Ranma."

She blinked. "What?" She asked.

"I believe that your martial skill is more than a match for his." The Goddess said, "Even if you lacked your exaltation I would still believe that."

Ranma looked at the smiling Goddess and couldn't help a frown. "You've just spent the last couple minutes building up the reputation of these Exaltations, and now you're saying I can beat a guy who's had… How much longer than me to get used to one?" Ranma asked. Beside her Ryouga leaned forward, a frown on his face as well.

Setarial shook her head. "You listened, but you did not understand. This Dawn Caste, known as Dawn-Comes-With-Thunder, was not a martial artist like yourself before becoming a Solar Exalt. He was a warrior, yes, but only a mortal one. It takes time to wield the powers that brought low the Primordials. Decades of experience, centuries even."

Ranma blinked. "Centuries?" She asked, across from her Kodachi twitched.

"Exaltation enhances all aspects of a person. From their skills, to their form, to their lifespan. The First Age was ruled by the Solars as part of the Creation Ruling Mandate laid upon them by the Unconquered Sun at the end of the Primordial War, yet they only ever had one Queen during its entire length. Queen Merela, a Dawn Caste who had fought and slain a primordial with her bare hands. She lived until the Usurpation. A span of over four thousand years." Setarial said.

Kodachi's chair scraped against the floor loudly as she stood up. "Please excuse me for a moment." She said before, to everyone's surprise, quickly leaving the room.

"Go after her." Ryu barked to the woman who had been following Kodachi earlier. The Soldier hurried out the door after the young woman.

Setarial blinked before sighing. "Oh dear." She said.

"Oh dear?" Ranma echoed.

"I appear to have miscalculated." Setarial admitted with an embarrassed look.

"Define miscalculated." Lily asked, pouring more into her wineglass. The bottle was starting to get rather empty.

The Goddess remained silent for a moment. "Would I be correct in saying that she is normally less… reserved?" She asked Ranma.

"That's one way of putting it." Ranma replied, "She's usually rather obnoxious."

"Ah. I see." Setarial frowned. "There are five types of Solar Exaltations. Dawn, Zenith, Twilight, Night and Eclipse. Each was intended to take on a different role in the Exalted. The Zenith, which is what Lady Kuno is, just so happen to be Priests and Priestesses of the Unconquered Sun. While the Unconquered Sun may choose to visit one of this chosen when they exalt, and grant them a vision of some kind, most do not receive such. The exception are the Zeniths, who always receive such a vision. It is usually either thought provoking or inspirational in some manner."

The doors banged open as the soldier returned. "She's gone." She announced.

Setarial sighed. "Or they can be life altering." She finished, "This would not be the first time I've seen or heard of one having doubts after Exalting."

Ranma sighed and set her plate on the table before standing. Next to her Ryouga went to stand and she pushed him back down. "Stay. Don't need you getting lost on us." She said with another sigh.

He frowned at her. "I don't get lost that easily." She raised an eyebrow. "I don't."

"Keep telling yourself that sheepdog." She replied with a smirk before heading for the door. She paused at the double doors. Looking over her shoulder she said, "I'll find her and bring her back. Don't wait on me." Before she walked through the doors into the hallway. Any reply was cut off as the oak doors swung shut, leaving her alone in the hallway.

She sighed and stretched. She wasn't stiff but it felt good being out of the meeting. Still… Power to kill a Primordial… Though what the exact difference between a Primordial and a God was she had no idea… She could almost see why Kodachi took off. The power, and the responsibility that came with that kind of power, it was terrifying in a way. Still maybe she could put that power to use to help find Kodachi. It was supposed to enhance everything so…

Looking around she tried to figure out which way Kodachi could have gone. The mark on her forehead flickered to life once more as she focused. A nearby door was open, it hadn't been earlier. She slipped into that room carefully. It was a sitting room, much like the others she had passed earlier. Items that had decorated the table were on the and the window was open.

"Of course." Ranma mumbled as she stuck her head out and looked up. A single thread of purple silk clung to the corner of the window. It wasn't unusual for martial artists of their caliber to go to the highest point possible when they wanted a chance to think. It was something of a learned habit really. Most people simply couldn't reach the same places they could without investing time and effort.

The redhead slipped out the window and bounced to the next window ledge. She easily covered the next four floors with a couple quick leaps. She landed on the roof with a light clatter, not even trying to hide her presence. The roof was mostly flat, though the edges did turn into more traditional tiling towards the sides. Kodachi was standing, looking out over the walls of the fortress at the city beyond. It was an impressive sight, especially the waterfall and cliffs that towered over the far end of the city where its lower levels met the river. A thick mist obscured most of the lower city, it glowed red and gold in the sunlight.

Kodachi looked over her shoulder. "I didn't expect you to follow me." She said softly.

"Well, I did. Not entirely sure why, but I did."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Greyfalls was a city unlike any other Kodachi had seen before. That wasn't saying all that much. She had never traveled outside of Japan before, let alone to other worlds. Still greyfalls was like something out of a storybook, or so it seemed from so high upon the palace roof. The city was divided into tiers. Those buildings on the tiers closest to the fortress seemed to hold to an asian aesthetic, a mishmash of styles that could have just as easily originated in Japan as China or even Korea. Those levels further down the hill, and closer to the cliffs where the waterfall blanketed the lower city in a thick mist, slowly transitioned towards a more european style. Or she thought it was european, it was difficult to tell through the mists.

Behind her a soft clatter announced the unwelcome arrival of someone on the roof. Kodachi looked over her shoulder. "I didn't expect you to follow me." She said softly.

"Well, I did. Not entirely sure why, but I did." The redhead said just as quietly. Kodachi turned back to the view. She wasn't ready for this conversation, not in the least.

She admired the view for a few moments, ignoring the sound of the one person she wanted to speak to least getting closer. "A beautiful view." She said as the footsteps died off, just behind her.

"I guess. I've never cared all that much for the scenery. Never seemed to last long enough to appreciate." The redhead said, wry amusement audible in her voice.

Despite herself something resembling a chuckle escaped. "If last night was any indication I guess I can see why." She said quietly. Silence fell for a few more minutes before she turned to face Ranma.

She knew that the redhead really was Ranma, yet despite having faced and come to understand that fact there was a part of her that had issues seeing the young man who she had been so infatuated with in the young woman who she had hated for so long. The curves, enough to make even her jealous; the finely braided hair, its ornaments glittering in the morning sun; and even the Kimono, abbreviated as it was, all served to blur her ability to recognize her as _him_. Yet now that she knew it was there she could see things about the redhead that leapt out. Things she had been blind to for so long. Small things mostly. The way her braid was tied, the way her feet sought the same stance, how her fingers tapped the same pattern on her thigh that he did when waiting. Or, most importantly, how she recognized that look of concern on her face, the same look that she remembered from that night two years earlier.

"Of everyone who might have followed to check on me… You were the last I expected." Kodachi said finally, her voice cracking slightly.

The redhead rolled her eyes and stepped passed her to look out over the city herself. "Yeah well you weren't acting like you." She said over her shoulder.

Kodachi blinked. That was it? "I would have thought you would _appreciate_ someone less violent than I've been." She said honestly. The wind picked up around them, the chill biting at her legs and sending goosebumps racing across her skin.

Ranma shrugged. "Not having you go off like a firecracker was nice, but it's not you. So o' course I was worried." She replied before turning back to face Kodachi. "So when did you figure out the curse?"

Kodachi's smile was brittle as she replied, "I didn't. I had it shown to me… Last night."

Ranma blinked, her mouth forming a silent 'oh' sound. "Setarial mentioned that Zenith's get uh, 'visitations' or something like that when they exalt. Is that what happened?" She asked carefully.

Kodachi nodded. "Yes… You didn't receive a vision?" She asked. The redhead shook her head. "I see… Yes I received a vision of the Unconquered Sun. In it I saw my life. Everything I've ever done. Then he forced me to judge myself, to see my actions not as I wished to see them, but as I had been taught to see them."

"What?" Ranma asked. She sounded confused, not that Kodachi could blame her, that was perhaps not the best explanation.

"In the vision I saw my life. He showed it to me, from my memories. He asked me to judge, without bias, my own life by my own values. I'm not sure how, but I did. I _saw_ for the first time in… I have no idea." She took a shuddering breath and tried to wipe away the tears that were forming. "When did I start _thinking_ like that. That I could just.." A sob shuddered through her. "I- I was raised by my mother to be a lady. A lady does not poison. She does not assault innocent people over high-school sports. She does not allow delusion to replace reality." Her legs crumpled and her knees hit the stone tiles as she started crying openly.

"I failed my mother's teachings. I something so simple a child could have managed it." She sneered through her tears as she continued to try and wipe them away. "And now-now… Why did he pick me..? Me? I don't understand. What I did with so little power I just… whywhywhy" Her hands pulled at her hair as she repeated the word over and over until a red and green blur knelt down infront of her.

"Stop that." She said as she took Kodachi's hands in hers and pulled them away. "Look at me." She ordered, her presence overwhelming Kodachi at that moment. "I don't know what it is he saw, but he saw something. The Unconquered Sun saw something in you, and according to what we've heard he's the big man in charge of everything here right? The Highest of High Gods or something like that."

Kodachi nodded. "Y-yes. Something like that yes." She said, choking back a sob. "I just… I can barely trust myself. How can you stand here and and comfort me like this. Most of what I did I did to you! WHY DON'T YOU HATE ME!"

The redhead reared back as if she'd been slapped for a moment, a frown appearing as she did. Then she raised one hand, and Kodachi flinched expecting to be struck. Instead it wiped away some of her tears as Ranma sighed. "I don't hate you. I've never hated you. Just like I don't hate Akane, or Ukyo, or Shampoo despite all the stupid shit all of them have done at one time or another." She said, her hand settling on Kodachi's shoulder.

"Really?" Kodachi's voice cracked as she spoke the word.

Ranma smiled and shrugged awkwardly. "Not much point in hating someone, just leads to people doing stupid things. Like Ryouga and the whole chasing me to china over that stupid duel of his." Kodachi blinked. She hadn't heard of that one. "I'll admit you annoyed me on occasion, but everyone else manages that anyway. Not that big a deal."

A half-truth if she'd ever heard one, but at that moment Kodachi didn't care. Tears pouring freely again she threw herself at the redhead, sobbing hard. It was a wonder that she only knocked the smaller girl onto her bottom rather than off the roof, as close as they were to the edge.

After a few awkward moments the redhead's arms found their way around Kodachi and ran soothingly through her hair as she cried. They sat that way for some time before Kodachi, having run out of tears, pulled back. "Oh dear." She said as she saw the wet state of Ranma's shoulder. She wiped a few tears away and blinked at the make-up that came away. "I've made a bit of a mess of everything haven't I?"

Ranma shrugged. "Been a long and weird night." She said, picking at the wet fabric on her shoulder before sighing. "Good thing this ain't mine." She said with a smile that brought a teary giggle from the Kuno.

"I am s-" She was cut off as a finger poked her in the nose. "Really?" She asked aggrieved.

"I think you've apologized enough for one day alright?" Ranma quipped before her smile turned a bit more serious. "You alright now?" She asked.

"I- No. I'm not." Kodachi said, her voice catching once more. "Why did this power come to me?" She asked.

Ranma shrugged. "Why'd it come to me?" She asked in return. "I get it's terrifying. If Setarial's tellin' the truth we're both walking around with the potential to punch out gods like Akane did those admirerers your brother siced on her before I showed up. I'm already responsible for breaking a couple o' mountains, and now I've got the potential to do… what? Punch out Gojira? Not sure there's anyone who's really ready for that kind of thing to be dropped on 'em."

As Kodachi watched something seemed to shift in the Redhead as the flickering mark on her head flared to life. "It's a lot of power, but that just means we have to try hard to be better. It's the duty of a martial artist to help people, this power is bigger than that though. It was created to protect people from things I'd run from." Something stirred in response to the rising tone of the Redhead's words. "To kill the unkillable, to break the unyielding. Maybe we'll never be worthy of it, but there's something inside both of us that caused it to choose us, which means we've got a chance. It might be a long shot, but we both own it to ourselves to at least try, right?"

Kodachi nodded and Ranma smiled brightly before standing. She held out a hand and Kodachi took it, allowing herself to be helped to her feet. "We good for now?" She asked, a smirk forming.

Despite herself Kodachi found herself nodding as a small smile formed. "Better than before at least." She allowed before, in a fit of impish mischief, she leaned down and kissed the redhead on the cheek. Pulling back she laughed at the dumbfounded look on Ranma's face. It lacked the obnoxious pitch she had always forced, for it was a free laugh, high and joyous. It was probably the first real laugh she had had in years. Still laughing she swept passed the redhead to the edge of the roof and looked back. Ranma was still standing stock still where she had been. Giggling uncontrollably the Kuno Heiress leapt lightly off the sixth story roof.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kodachi had kissed her. _Her_ that was the important bit, and it hadn't involved drugs, poison, or that annoyingly obnoxious laugh. There had been laughter involved but it was of the normal non-insane variety. Still… She had quite willingly kissed Ranma in her female form when not even a day ago she'd have cheerfully garroted the redhead in her sleep.

Finally shaking off her surprised stupor she sighed and rubbed her forehead to ease the headache that wanted to start. Setarial had said the visions could be life altering, but that... "Oh god it's Ucchan all over again." She complained out loud. Why was it whenever she had a chance to just get rid of one of the fiancees she never just took it?

Still she'd managed to head off what appeared to be a full breakdown, so that was a plus. Kodachi was crazy enough the way she had been, gods knew how terrifying she'd be with an exaltation. Still that speech she'd given.. It had come from within her, drawn from deep within her mind as easily as if she'd been breathing. Was that an example of what Exaltation did? Did it simply make one better? She wasn't going to complain if it did. She sucked at emotional stuff so any help there was appreciated.

She walked over to the end and looked down. Well there wasn't a body sprawled out in front of the main door so she probably wasn't dead. Hopefully. With a shrug she stepped off the roof and hit the ground with scarcely a sound. Turning on one heel she walked back inside and headed back up the stairs to the second floor.

On the second floor, just down the hall from the dining room she found Kodachi looking into a hanging mirror and working on wiping away the smudged make-up with handkerchief. She looked up at Ranma and smiled wanly. "Tears are rather hard on make-up I'm afraid." She said with a guilty smile. "A pity since those two girls do good work."

Ranma shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I didn't let them put any on me." She said.

Kodachi blinked then shrugged. "I don't suppose you would, would you." She said before wiping away the last bit and hiding the handkerchief. "Good enough I suppose. I'll just have to go without."

Ranma rolled her eyes as she walked passed. "You look fine." She said.

"Fine is not good enough when dealing with a Goddess." Kodachi replied, a touch of pride in her voice for the first time in the entire day.

Ranma smiled. There was some of the fire she was used to from the other girl. "I don't know, it seemed to work just _fine_ for me." She teased lightly.

"Perhaps." Kodachi allowed, her own lips twitching towards a smile as they reached the doors. They shared a look. "After you in this case I think." Kodachi said after a moment of staring at the door.

The roll of her eyes was entirely necessary in Ranma's opinion before she stepped up and entered the room, pushing the double doors wide with her hands as she did. Whatever conversation in the room stopped as she entered with everyone from Setarial to Ryouga and Ryu turning to look as the two solars entered the room.

"You were gone for quite a while." Setarial noted, "I was starting to wonder if I should worry."

Kodachi coughed into one fist with a blush. "We had… matters to discuss." She said carefully.

"That's one way to put it." Ranma said, not even noticing as Kodachi's blush doubled. Ranma walked around the table to her seat, and Kodachi followed, quickly finding a seat on the other side of Ryouga. "What did we miss?" Ranma asked.

"Not too much." Ryouga said with a smirk that sent off alarm bells in Ranma's head.

"Not much?" Ranma prodded her rival.

"Not _too_ much." He repeated with a drawl.

"Uh huh." Ranma looked at him dubiously. She seriously doubted it _wasn't much_.

Across the table Ryu rolled his eyes. "Quite a bit, more like." The Lieutenant said, shutting down the back and forth without a care. Ryouga rolled his eyes as Ranma turned to look at the Lieutenant.

"We discussed plans to save the city." Setarial said, speaking up with an amused smile.

"Her plans mainly." Ryu said, "To which I've agreed, conditionally, to."

"Conditionally?" Ranma asked, she was starting to get annoyed.

"Among them, uh, you accepting." Ryu said with a smirk.

Ranma's eyes narrowed and she looked from Ryu to Ryouga and groaned internally. They were ganging up on her now. Just wonderful.

"Enough, both of you." Lily said speaking up. "Lady Setarial could you please?" She asked the Goddess plaintively.

The Goddess chuckled and nodded. "Very well." She said before turning to Ranma. "The Lieutenant has agreed to provide what manpower he can, however he has less than a hundred men. Not nearly enough to hold the city. There are other sources of manpower of course. A militia could be raised to assist, however we have something of an issue when it comes to supplying them with weaponry."

"We don't have enough." Lily said bluntly.

"I was sent to check the Fortress armory earlier," Sergeant Lockler said, "It's nearly empty. Plenty of arrows, but it's low on spears, swords, and pretty much everything else. I suspect the Satrap had it stripped of everything he could on the way out."

"Which leaves us with the issue of supplying enough weaponry for a militia, on top of actually being able to organize one." Ryouga added, "The Magistrates might be able to convince people to join one, but…" He trailed off allowing Setarial to step in once more.

"With the Realm pulling out I know of several influential groups that are going to want to try and take power, unless we can undercut them before they get a chance." She said.

Ranma frowned. "I'm not going to like this next part am I?" She opined. Next to her Ryouga chuckled.

"Doubt it." He said, earning an annoyed glare for his quip.

Lily leaned forward. "Greyfalls has been developing an undercurrent of nationalism for some time now. A lot of it at parties in this very palace in fact. We've been keeping an eye on it, but according to Leitleen its progressed somewhat further than we had imagined." She said, gesturing to the raven at Setarial's side.

The Raven hopped forward a bit. "A small number of landowners have begun to stockpile weapons in several Mist-town warehouses. They do have some degree of support, however it hasn't reached the level where they could conceivably launch a coup."

"What I still don't understand is why you did not bring this to our attention before." Lily said irritably.

"I've been trying to determine where they are getting the weapons." Leitleen said stiffly, "I suspect the Guild, but proof has been scarce."

"The Guild?" Ranma asked curiously.

"A mortal organization dedicated to trading across the breadth of Creation. They are quite powerful, however they are banned from trading on the Blessed Isle, and even here in Greyfalls they are limited to trading in the City itself." Zeriah said, "With good reason as well. While some Guild Factors are honest, many are practiced at subverting government officials and deal with.. Less than legal trades."

"I suspect they may be supplying the weaponry in hopes of opening up the country." Leitleen said, "Still despite the buildup of weapons they do not have an army just yet. We may, and that is may, be able to persuade them to contribute the weapons to the defences of the city. The bigger issue, however, is that they are not unified. In point of fact I doubt any of the ones who have been stockpiling weaponry have expliciting told any of the others."

"You're worried they'll try and take control the moment the Realm finishes pulling out." Ranma realized.

"Correct." Setarial said, "Without a unified leadership I believe it to be quite likely that they'll fall to infighting before the day is out. As Leitleen said, if each one has been building up their supply of weapons independently, then they are most likely intending on putting themselves forward as the new 'King' of Greyfalls. While some might bend knee to each other there are none amongst them whom I would say possesses the charisma, or record required to garner sufficient support to prevent bloodshed."

"And if they're fighting each other they aren't preparing for the army marching on the city." Ranma groaned.

Setarial smiled. "You at least see the issue. Of course there is a way to circumvent this entire issue." She said.

Ranma's eyes narrowed as she observed the slightly too wide for comfort smile on the Goddess's face. "That feeling of 'I'm not going to like this' is getting stronger." She said with a resigned sighed.

"Yes well," Setarial's smile did not diminish in the slightest. "Several among these conspirators have attempted to reach out to me. In hopes of garnering my Blessing for their actions. I have held back thus far because as little love as I may possess for the Realm it has been the best choice to date to protect my people. That has, of course, changed as of last night. I intend to invite these conspirators, both those who have amassed weaponry and those who have not, to my temple. I will make it clear I intend to grant my blessing to a new 'King' or 'Queen' who will take over the throne of Greyfalls. That will be enough for most of them I imagine."

"You sure?" Ranma was sceptical about that. In her experience just being told to 'deal with it' never worked.

"She is the Goddess of the Nation and the City." Leitleen said, "Her word carries weight. Add to that the fact that most of them don't want the throne, they just want independence from the Realm. If we put forward a King or Queen they will follow them. After all the Goddess of Greyfalls is ancient and wise. Whomever she picks is bound to be the best choice."

"Maybe." Ranma frowned. "Not going to work for all of them."

"No, it's not." Setarial agreed, "Not one of them won't come. The chance of gaining my Blessing is too great to ignore. However I imagine some may have issues with my choice."

"Really not liking where this is going." Ranma muttered, garnering a chuckle from Ryouga.

"No you're not." He mumbled back.

Ranma rolled her eyes are her rival. "And who are you choosing?" She asked, though she was rather sure she already knew.

"You." Setarial said, confirming the redhead's suspicions.

"Nope." She replied instantly. "Not doing it. Pick someone else."

"Told you." Ryouga said smugly.

"So you did." Setarial allowed. "Unfortunately there really isn't anyone else."

"How about Ryouga here?" Ranma said pointing over her shoulder.

"Hell no." Was his deadpanned reply. "Also I'm not the one who broke the legion. You break it, you buy it."

"I didn't do it alone." Ranma said glaring at him.

"They were doing fine until you did the whole tornado thing." He replied, "They were scared yeah, but they kept coming."

"While they still would have been forced to withdraw due to the casualties." Lily said, "The average person is going to hear of your actions and equate their defeat with you. Zeriah and I are out. We're Realm. Kodachi is… Well no offense but no one knows anything about you." The Kuno shrugged and waved it off. "Shapeshifting is associated with monsters more than rulers. A Lunar would simply be unacceptable in most people's eyes, despite his contributions to driving out the Realm. Politically out of everyone here you're the only one who can actually stand as a possible 'Queen'."

"Not a Queen. Not a Princess. Not Royalty damn it." Ranma growled. She'd be damned before she accepted something like that.

"Even if it's the only way to keep the city from erupting in a civil war right before an invasion?" Ryu pressed. She twitched, visibly at that. "Face it Ranma you broke the balance that was keeping the city from going up like a roman candle. Well now the fuse is lit and unless you step up its going off." He said.

"That was _not_ my fault." She snapped, causing more than one person to reel backwards. She sighed and slumped. "I've met royalty before. Bunch of stuck up bastards the lot of them. I am not becoming one of them." She said firmly.

"Normal royalty is indeed like that." Setarial said with an understanding smile, "Why do you think I do not want to choose one of those who have been conspiring to bring war to this city simply so they might seize a throne that does not yet exist?"

The Goddess pushed back her chair and stood for the first time since arriving. Slowly she started to walk around the table towards Ranma. "These men claim patriotism. They claim loyalty to a nation, yet even as they did so they sought to bring it low so that they might claim it for themselves. I cannot trust them, not with the duties that come with a crown. Nor with the safety of my people." She stopped in front of Ranma and, to her astonishment, knelt before the Dawn. Her head bent low she continued her plea. "Please, Saotome Ranma accept my Blessing and take up the Crown of Greyfalls. I have no one else I may turn to in this matter, no one else who might protect my people from the coming storm."

Ranma starred down at the Goddess in utter disbelief. What did you say when a Goddess got down on her knees and _begged_ you to do something. A large part of her wanted to say 'no'. She didn't want a crown. She didn't want a nation. Hell she wasn't really all that sure what she wanted, but it wasn't this. Still… She glanced over at Ryu who seemed to be as surprised as she was. He had a point. She had, essentially, broken whatever chance they might have had to stop this…

"We own it to ourselves to at least try." Ranma blinked as Kodachi spoke up, "That's what you said up on the roof." Ranma turned to Kodachi who smiled. "We've been given power for some reason. Maybe this is part of it." She said with a shrug.

Ranma frowned thoughtfully and turned back to the Goddess, who had remained kneeling quietly waiting. "I-" She sighed. "I don't want a Crown, but… I guess Ryu's right. I broke it. My job to fix it. If you want me to wear a Crown I'll do it. Just… Don't call me a Queen, alright?"

"Well that gets rid of the easiest title." She heard Lily mutter to Zeriah who chuckled.

"Thank you." Setarial said with a smile as she looked up at Ranma. "Lily if you would, as we discussed."

Ranma blinked as the Magistrate unwrapped the cloth bundle she had laid on the table when she arrived. Inside was a long sword in an equally long scabbard. Actually she recognized the blade. "Isn't that the Ice Guy's blade." She asked.

"Yes it is." Lily said as she picked it up and walked around the table to Ranma. Kneeling she held out the blade hilt first. "As the ranking representatives of the Realm left in the city I give this gift, the sword of Mnemon Ice Hand, as a sign of our unconditional surrender."

After a moment's hesitation, and a prod in the back from Ryouga, she reached out and grasped the hilt before drawing the blade. The strange blue metal shimmered in the daylight. It was a magnificent blade. Longer than she'd have preferred, but perfectly balanced without a single chip, crack or imperfection anywhere along its length. It was a touch heavy though.

"I accept your surrender Whitemane Lily." Ranma said as she turned the blade over in her hands. Taking the scabbard she slid the blade back in and looked around. "So… Where do we start?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Chapter Five, some 16,500 written in Marathon. Oh boy did writing this one burn me down. Still I hope you enjoy it. Remember to leave a review if you did. :)


	6. Chapter Six Oaths of Broken Fate Morning

The men of Vaneha were a mixed lot. Their equipment ranged from leather buff jackets to the occasional full plate suit. Even their weapons lacked uniformity with men from the same unit carrying everything from spears to axes. It was to be expected, drawn as they were from many clans and held together more by the force of personality than any sort of cohesive loyalty or strength of character. And yet they marched in perfect lockstep with each other, their boots beating a steady rhythm as they marched along the road.

To Faolan Moran, the Dawn That Comes With Thunder, it was a beautiful sight despite its mixed nature. He smiled as he road along the side of the long column that was marching steadily towards Greyfalls and his victory. His revenge. Unconsciously one hand went to the pouch at his side where that old familiar adamant jar with the last lock of his wife's hair resided.

"Still daydreaming I see." A woman quipped from behind him.

Shaking off his thoughts he turned in his saddle to see the speaker, though he already knew who it was. Sanaa Sheehan, his old childhood friend and Night Caste smirked at him from the back of her dire wolf where she sat sidesaddle on her familiar's bareback. Petite as she was her Orihalcum Powerbow would have been poking her familiar in the back if she wasn't holding it cradled in her hands like a harp as usual. Her long red hair was pulled up into a single bun.

"Hardly a better time than now." He said with a chuckle. "With General Kitano's force dead the last possible opposition to our advance has been swept aside. Even if word of his defeat reaches the city they won't dare try to fight us on the open field. Our numbers are far too great."

"And yet all it would take to break the army is your death." She reminded gently, her dire wolf bringing her alongside his horse.

"Which is why I'm not riding at the front of the column." He pointed out, pulling gently on the reigns as his horse tried to shy away from the large wolf. "Judging by the fact you are once again taking time to judge my good sense am I to assume your mission went well?" He asked.

"As well as could be expected." She said, "While the spirit courts within reach were unwilling to speak to me I did find a couple gods who were willing to part with some information. Unfortunately it is not good news."

Faolan sighed. Such was the nature of war. "I should have expected that. Tell me what did they see?" He asked.

"By all accounts an unusually large raven was spotted flying normal with unusual speed. While a raven spirit is not unusual, there is the fact that I found an interestingly large number of people in nearby villages insisting that there is nothing unusual about ordinary Ravens regardless of size, and that ordinary Ravens are nothing to waste time on. Also regardless of size. When pressed they merely repeat the same thing." She said, "If I'm not mistaken does that not match the description you gave me of-"

"Leitleen. Yes, it does." The Dawn Caste sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "So Greyfalls' Goddess of Travelers witnessed our battle almost certainly."

"So it would seem." His old friend agreed.

He raised a hand and signalled a nearby officer. The man rode over. "Your orders General." He said, saluting as best he could from the saddle.

"Pass the word up and down the column. We'll stop marching an hour early. The moment the command tent goes up I want my captains there. We're reorganizing the army." He ordered.

"As you command General. Anything further sir?" He asked.

Faolan waved him off. "Dismissed." He said and the man took towards the front of the column.

Beside him his friend quirked an eyebrow. "Reorganizing the army?" She asked.

He nodded. "We need to move to invest the city before they can get extra supplies brought in from the rest of the satrapy. If they do that we're looking at an even longer potential siege." He said.

She nodded. "There's no way you're getting the entire army to move much faster than this." She noted.

"No I'm not." He groused before sighing. "Such is the realities of war unfortunately. How many spare horses do we have?" He asked.

She blinked. "Three, maybe four thousand, perhaps half again more if we take some of the remounts from the cavalry." She said after a moment. Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"

He smiled. "An old trick, nothing more." He said mysteriously.

"You are aware I hate it when you give vague answers." She pointed out, resigned irritation audible in her voice.

"I know."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter Six: Oaths of Broken Fate

Part One: Morning

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

"So… Where do we start?" Ranma surveyed the rest of the room's inhabitants. "You better have some idea what to do from here because I've never tried to take over a city before."

Ryouga chuckled. "We seem to have done fine so far." He sarcastically quipped. Ranma rolled her eyes at him.

Setarial rose from the floor with a smile. "First, perhaps you should take the appropriate seat." She said. She stepped to the side and gestured to the chair at the head of the table that she had been using up until then. Leitleen hopped away from the chair and bowed, one of her wings stretching out towards the chair.

Hesitantly Ranma rose from her chair and walked to the head of the table, the sword held in one hand. Lily bowed slightly as she passed. It felt strange seeing someone bow to her. It was the opposite of everything she'd experienced in Nerima. As she sat down in the chair at the head of the table Setarial took up the seat to her right and Lily hurried around the table to return to her own seat.

Sitting at the head of the table the room seemed bigger. She had been aware of how big the table was from where she was sitting before, but seeing it stretch out passed their small group into the distance hammered home just what she had just agreed to. She flicked a glance to the Goddess who was smiling and petting Leitleen as she waited. She suspected it was probably the reaction that Setarial had been hoping for.

Taking a deep breath she steadied herself. She'd agreed to this, however much under protest, so she would have to deal with it. It was not like she was alone in this either. To her left sat the magistrates, Sergeant Lockler, Ryu and his own Sergeant Akiyama. To her right the Goddess Setarial and her pet Raven, Ryouga, and Kodachi. Of them she could probably count on Ryu and Ryouga to hold to any agreement, though surprisingly she would trust Ryu to hold true to his word more than she would Ryouga. Setarial was to blame for even suggesting this mess so she wasn't likely to back out. The magistrates might be useful, but given they had just tried to kill her before this she doubted any trust placed there was well given. Of those left she knew nothing of Lockler and Kodachi… After that conversation on the roof she could probably trust Kodachi to follow her lead. Hopefully.

She took a second deep breath and set the sword in its sheathe on the table before her. "Alright." She said, sitting straight as she tried to project as much authority as she could. "Tell me you have more of a plan then 'put Ranma on throne, Profit'."

The two young men from her world snorted in amusement. Setarial smiled. "We do in fact have a plan. Or at least most of one. Lieutenant if you would." She looked to the snickering soldier.

Getting his amusement under control he coughed into his palm to clear his throat. "Right, first part of the plan is consolidation and preparation. The JSDF forces are scattered quite wide. And they aren't the only people from our home either. All the groups I'm in contact with are reporting civilians as well. All totalled we're looking at over two hundred people at the least. Some are in the city, but a lot are in the fields to the east or across the river to the west. Unless I can consolidate my troops I won't be able to spare men for more than holding the fortress. And speaking of the fortress there are still Realm Legionnaires inside the main keep."

"Wounded most likely and those who refused to leave them." Lockler added.

Ryu nodded. "They're still a possible problem that needs to be dealt with quickly. We need to either get them out, unlikely if they have so many wounded, or we need to get them to submit. Either as prisoners or, hopefully, as soldiers. Their experience as Realm soldiers could be crucial to getting this militia we need off the ground in the short time we have."

"We just don't have the manpower to do everything we need. If we can get their assistance it would be very helpful." Akiyama said, "The keep aside, consolidation is going to take a while. There isn't a bridge over the Lesser Rock River so we'll have to take control of the Nooji Plaza ferries. That's not possible before noon unless we wish to fight the Realm as it's pulling out. Even then we'll probably have to deal with those who didn't make it in time."

"You're assuming the Satrap won't take them as well." Kodachi pointed out. "If he has as many people to move as you've suggested then he might be short of boat space."

"Not likely." Lily said with a shake of her head, "The ferries are little more than fancy rowboats. Dangerous to use on the larger Rock River and only able to carry up to a dozen if you don't mind them using all the room for sitting."

Kodachi nodded and fell silent. Ryu nodded thankfully to Lily and continued, "We can still open up the east gate in High Quarter so long as we make sure to keep away from the main road." He tapped the map that was covering the table. For the first time she realized it was a different map from earlier that showed the city rather than the world. It wasn't the most detailed map, but it showed the major streets and districts.

The City abbuted the river, that she already knew, but a full half of the city's districts were directly next to the river. Mist-town in the north was practically underneath the falls from what she could see. Nooji Plaza sat downriver and even further was the triangular patch between the river and what was labeled the 'Nellens Canal' that was called Canal Gate. A single road ran through Nooji, from what was labeled as the 'River Gate' through Canal Gate before going through what appeared to be the only gate leading into the upper tiers of the city. On that side anyway. On the other side of the gate was the largest district, High Quarter, which appeared to be centered around nine large plazas that ringed the upper districts of the city. Surrounded by the larger High Quarter was Alder plaza, which in turn surrounded the diamond shaped fortress.

"Not from here you're not." Ranma noted.

Ryu nodded. "We left some people behind in High Quarter. If they move through the side streets they shouldn't have any issues making the east gate. Once they let the others in a squad will hold the gate while the rest rally here." He tapped a plaza in the south with his finger, "A handful of soldiers are guarding an artillery piece that got dragged along with us. They'll figure out how to move it then, once the streets are clear, take the main road up to the fortress ramp in Alder Plaza. We'll finish consolidating them then send half our available troops to secure the ferries and retrieve the rest of our people. This will take most of the day I imagine."

Ranma nodded as she looked down at the map. "Anything else Ryu?" She asked.

"Only one other thing. On the eastern side of Garrison heights is a temple of some kind. Should we be worried about that or..?" He trailed off looking around.

"It's the local Priory of the Immaculate Monks. Other than a handful of disciples inside the main threat was the monks themselves and you took care of the last of them." Zeriah said, "Still they could make trouble if we don't deal with them. Unless they've already hightailed it down to the docks. We'll need to deal with it at the same time as the fortress."

Ranma sighed. "Just get them out of there and down to the docks." She said, eliciting nods around the table. "Is that everything?" She asked.

"On the military side yes." Lily said, "We still have to prepare for the meeting with the conspirators. Of which there are quite a few more than Leitleen originally implied." The Raven actually managed to look embarrassed for a moment before speaking.

"Lily is correct. There are several dozen conspirators of high enough importance to actually warrant attention. Powerful merchants and landowners. Most of them are in the City right now.." The Raven said, "Lady Setarial has prepared invitations for the event tonight which I will be delivering today. Hopefully the prospect of her blessing will head off a civil war long enough for us to win them to your side."

"While my word will be enough for most, the rest will require you to make a good impression." Setarial said.

"Easier said than done with Ranma." Ryouga said, earning a glare from the Redhead.

The Goddess sighed. "Yes well. While Lady Bretegani and Lily focus on preparing my Temple for the event, Leitleen and I shall be preparing you for what is to come."

"Oh?"

"You are a warrior first, are you not?" The Goddess asked.

"Martial Artist, but… yeah this is a bit out there even for me." Ranma admitted after a moment.

Setarial nodded and smiled. "Then this battlefield is outside your speciality. Will it is only a day we shall do what we can to educate you in what you will need to know. Fortunately you will only need to handle some of the conspirators personally."

"Of the several dozen conspirators there are three that stand out above the rest." Leitleen said.

"Were I forced to settle for one of the conspirators it would have been from these three I would have chosen." Setarial said, "Leitleen if you could?"

"Of course Milady. The first is Staedtler William." The Raven sweeping a bow to her mistress. "He is of the Nuri, and is a man of impressive influence and wealth. At least by the standards of Greyfalls. His wealth pales to the average Dynast but he is easily the richest man in Greyfalls barring the Islanders. Also well liked and respected by most of the conspirators. He's not one of those stockpiling weapons, but his influence with the rest is immense."

"Nuri?" Ranma interrupted, "What the hell is a Nuri?"

"A local ethnic group." Lily responded. "They were originally held in slavery before the arrival of the Realm. Most of them are merchants or civil servants."

"There are a number of major groups who live in Greyfalls." Setarial said, "Along with the Nuri there is the Tanu, Miruda, and and Zaranthi."

"Do you remember the three men Lockler was fighting when we arrived?" Lily asked. At Ranma's nod she continued, "The tall one was of the Tanu. They migrated from the north centuries ago and make up the largest segment of Greyfalls population. The short ones are Zaranthi, descendants of a barbarian invasion centuries ago. They usually tend farms or join the army. There is also the Miruda. Wyld mutants with a relatively benign affliction of an additional finger on their left hand and turquoise skin. Realm law prohibits any Wyld mutant from holding public positions, but they make their living as talented craftsmen usually working with gems and jewelry."

"I think I saw one of them earlier." Ryu said, "Average sized house over a shop in High Quarter."

Lily nodded. "Yes despite the ban they managed well enough." She said.

"Why would they be banned?" Ranma asked. Sure being turquoise, whatever that colour was, and having an extra finger was a bit freaky. Except they were apparently common enough to be mentioned, and seemingly successful.

"It has to do with the nature of wyld mutations." Zariah said, taking over from Lily, "Exposure to the Wyld has unpredictable effects that frequently can be passed down to children. Because of the infinite variety of mutations, and because not all changes are visible, it has been the decision of the Empress to forbid all wyld mutants from holding office. Just in case there was more to the mutations that first suspected."

"It is unfortunate." Setarial said with a sad smile, "While I can say the Miruda have no mental deficiencies caused by the wyld having a blanket ban does prevent those others who are as cunning as they are warped from exploiting the system to cause problem. Still we do not have time to discuss this in the detail it deserves if we wish to have everything well on its way by noon."

"Very well." Kodachi said, closing her mouth with a frown before leaning forward. "What sort of person is Staedtler?" Kodachi asked.

"He's fond of hosting parties whenever a chance appears and has a reputation for good business sense. We have had dealings in the past, though it has been years since I last conversed with him. If he is anything like he was then I doubt he desires the throne for himself. I would imagine that if he put his support behind a candidate they would be much more well received by the majority of his contemporaries."

"A kingmaker then." Kodachi said.

"Potentially. Now, let us move onto the other two. For the second we have a bit of an odd one. One of the Tanu, a rarity in the upper classes. Bengtsson Gehard. The largest landowner in the Sweet Rose District and one of the largest in Greyfalls. An impressive achievement since he started with little more than a single farm forty years ago. Even more impressive if you consider the only people with more land to their names are Dynasts. Ambitious and crafty, he's likely to be a problem. He does hold significant sway in the Sweet Rose District and most of the conspirators from that region are in his camp, as are some of those from Brownclay. He is the one I most suspect of being in direct contact with the guild."

Ranma's eyes narrowed. He was definitely sounding like more of an issue than the first. "Will he be a problem?" She asked.

"More than likely. He's prideful and ambitious." Leitleen said, "Neither is a good combination in this situation. Worse I have reason to believe he holds Gods in contempt. Milady's blessing may have the opposite effect we intend with him and his supporters."

Privately Ranma increased the odds of this plan failing spectacularly. She had dealt with people like that before, and even if they made a show of acquiescing to others demands they usually just did their own thing anyway.

"Should we keep an eye on him and his supporters?" Ryu asked, leaning forward.

"If we can spare the manpower. Otherwise I will do my best to keep him under watch." Leitleen said with a bow.

"And the last?" Ranma prodded.

"Also of the Nuri. Sung Huian he represents the more conservative side of the conspirators. The fact you are not from Greyfalls will be a large point of contention."

"There was bound to be a few." Ryu noted.

The Raven nodded. "Yes; he, however, is likely to be the most influential of them. He, like Bengtsson, is amassing weapons and unlike Bengtsson he does have a significant group of supporters spread across much of the Mountain, Canal, Briarwood and Barclay districts. The manpower he can call on is greater than any two of the other conspirators, however most of it isn't in the city at the moment unlike the others. Winning his loyalty would more than likely bring the northern districts under control in the long term. In the short his approval should help bring in volunteers for the militia." She said.

"Sung Huian is a good man." Setarial said, "Devoted to Greyfalls, but prideful. Of the three he is the one I cannot fully anticipate." The Goddess frowned, "His pride in Greyfalls quite possibly exceeds any respect he might have for me. It is entirely possible he may refuse to acknowledge my choice simply because of your origins."

"Which is why we're going to start with Staedtler." Leitleen continued. "While we are preparing you today we'll invite him to the palace to talk. Hopefully in private we can win him over. Should we show at the temple tonight with him in support we should have the credibility to get Sung to give you a chance. If that goes as planned Bengtsson should be marginalized enough in the short term to let us establish some legitimacy and get Greyfalls properly organized."

"And if he doesn't go for it?" Ranma asked pointedly. The plan was relying on too many shoulds and ifs for her liking, but then again didn't most of her own plans...

"We'll be forced to deal with it at the time." Setarial said, "However that is partly why I decided you would be the best choice. Your martial ability should allow you to weather a worst case scenario without issue." A frown, just a little too wide for comfort, made its way onto her face. "My duty is the long term survival of the city. I will not allow petty men like them to ruin our only chance."

Well Setarial seemed to have some faith in her at least. It was some comfort to Ranma, though she had to wonder why. In her experience being able to KO an army with your bare hands didn't translate into competence in other fields.

"We will handle them if we must." Kodachi said, drawing everyone's attention once more. "I doubt I am the only one who would prefer to see this done without bloodshed, but I know quite well the depths to which a person can sink in their pursuit of their desires."

Memories of the several times she and Kodachi clashed flickered through Ranma's head. Poison featured quite heavily in them. Poison and broken oaths. A frown tried to force its way onto her face, but she forced it down, instead sighing loudly.

As the room turned back to her the redhead ran one hand along the sheath of the blade before her. The leather was supple and well cared for, even if it was showing visible signs of age. After a moment of appreciating the craftsmanship she looked back up at the room. "Kodachi is right. We'll expect the worst and hope everything works out anyway." Heads bobbed in agreement around the room. "Is that everything for the moment?"

Lily, Ryu and Setarial exchange glances. "I think that is it for the moment." Lily said, "We should meet again later in the afternoon once we've managed to set things in motion. As Setarial said Lady Bretegani and I shall see about preparing the venue for this event while Setarial assists you in handling Staedtler."

"And I'll make sure we get everyone consolidated here by then." Ryu said, "Though, Ryouga you wouldn't happen to have anything to do would you?"

Ryouga started as he was addressed directly. "No? I don't think so anyway." He said, glancing around.

"I will need him later, after our next meeting." Setarial said, "His presence will be helpful tonight, but if he's willing we hardly need him for the next few hours."

Ranma swore that Ryouga looked mildly insulted at that. She refrained from snickering. Just. "Yeah I can help out if you need." He said to Ryu.

Ranma's self-control couldn't last forever. "Just don't let him go anywhere without an escort." Ranma said with a grin, "We don't want him wandering off for a month."

Ryouga flushed red with anger. "I don't get-" He started angrily.

"Three. Days. Late." She replied flatly. When he went to continue she added, "Behind your house." His teeth clicked shut and he continued to glare at her, his face getting redder.

Setarial seemed taken aback by the sudden turn of the conversation while Kodachi sighed. Ryu chuckled and pushed back from the table. "Won't be a problem. He'll be with me anyway." He said.

"What do you need me for anyway?" Ryouga asked as he continued to glare daggers at the smirking redhead at the head of the table.

"Those guys in the keep saw you rip apart a Battalion." Ryu said, "I figure your presence should help… dissuade the brave souls amongst them from trying anything stupid."

Ryouga grinned wildly, his small fangs showing. "I can help with that." He said, pushing back his own chair.

Ranma, seeing everyone getting ready to take off stood up. "Right then. We're done for now then?" She asked.

"Yes your Highness." Lily said with a slight bow.

The redhead grimaced briefly before sighing. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ryouga grinning at her misfortune. She rolled her eyes. "Well then everyone is dismissed. We'll meet again at about…?" She looked towards the Goddess.

"I believe four in the afternoon should be fine." She said with a smile as she gracefully rose from her chair.

"Four o'clock then." Ranma nodded, "Dismissed." With a loud clatter of chairs on marble most of the people at the table got up and headed for the door. The only ones who stayed were Setarial, Zeriah, Kodachi and Leitleen. Even the guards around the room followed their commander out.

As the sound of feet retreated into the distance Ranma looked at the people who remained. "Well? Now what?" She prompted.

Setarial smiled widely as she stepped up to Ranma, laying one soft hand on her shoulder. "Now we begin your education on how to rule." She said.

Ranma returned her happy smile with a dead flat stare. "Joy." She deadpanned.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Corporal Kawashima Suki nursed her canteen as she sat at the window of the tea shop they had commandeered the night before. Watching the sunrise had been nice for once, but despite the sunlight the temperature had started dropping fast. If she had to make a guess it was hovering just above freezing, which made the warm tea house with its crackling fire in the center of the room the perfect place to be. Especially since they were, as a whole unit, underdressed for the weather. It was supposed to be summer not the first day of winter!

She sighed and took a swig of the bourbon she had hidden in her canteen. She savoured the burn as it went down. She swished the canteen around and frowned. At the rate she was going it would be gone before noon, and she didn't even have the slightest buzz despite having drunk enough that she should have been having issues standing.

"Stupid fucking alcohol." She muttered as she twisted the cap back on. "Can't even get drunk." She set it on the table with a clunk, nearly knocking the small plate of snacks off the table. Not that there was much room for either at the moment. A long-range radio, the spare from the LAV, was taking up most of the table.

"Ma'am?" Kawashima turned to look at the source of the quiet voice. A young woman, probably five, maybe six, years younger than her was standing at attention quivering nervously. She had to be just out of boot camp.

"You are?" Kawashima asked, leaning back in her chair to look passed the nervous young woman. The couple tables worth of female soldiers who were not needed to keep an eye on the perimeter quickly snapped back to the snacks the proprietor had brought out an hour earlier.

"P-Private Watanabe Yori Ma'am." She snapped a salute that quivered along with the rest of her.

Kawashima sighed. "Not a Ma'am Private. Relax." She said as she popped a cracker into her mouth. The young woman dropped the salute and relax… sorta anyway. She was still quivering more than a scared rabbit, but at least she was no longer at attention. "So, is there something you need?" Kawashima asked.

"I- um I was just- that is. Um.." Kawashima sighed again as the girl stuttered.

"You were going to ask whatever question it is that lot volunteered you for, right?" She prompted. The girl squeaked and nodded. "I'm guessing they're getting bored." Another nod. "We wait for the Lieutenant's order. We're not moving until then." She said, leaning back to shout it loudly around the girl at the two tables of troublemakers who went rigid at the reprimand. Turning back to the young woman she smiled. "Not sure why they're in so much of a hurry. Its damned cold out there."

The girl smiled nervously, before yelping as the radio crackled to life. "Anyone with a LR Radio this is Second Lieutenant Kumon. Please respond immediately."

"Speak of the devil." Kawashima muttered before picking up the mic. "Corporal Kawashima reporting."

As she let go of the transmitter more voices piped up. "Sergeant Motou Kenji reporting." "Sergeant Mori Katsu reporting." "Sergeant Ito Itsuki reporting." "Sergeant Maki Jirou reporting in."

The radio crackled again, "I'm getting reports from Corporal Kawashima, and Sergeants Motou, Mori, Ito, and Maki. Can the five of you hear anyone else I'm missing?" Kumon asked.

"Clear here." Kawashima said. She was immediately echoed by everyone else.

"Good. If anyone else is reading this keep listening." The Lieutenant continued, "I've managed to arrange for a deal with what's left of the administration up here at the keep. That is to say what government officials weren't driven away by the mess Saotome and Hibiki stirred up when the came crashing through the roof."

"Saotome, and Hibiki sir? They're there?" Ito asked.

"Yes they are." Kumon said. "I'm right here with Hibiki. To bring all of your groups up to speed here's the deal. The government of the City and connected territories has split in two. Most of them are taking the ships in the harbour and leaving downriver. The rest just surrendered to Saotome, formally surrendered, a half hour ago."

Kawashima stared at the radio blankly for a moment before sighing. "Just one more weird thing to add to the pile of weird things." She said to the dumbfounded private to her right.

At the same time Ito spoke up, "Sir, Saotome is a Civilian, unless you're telling me something has changed-"

"Nothing says a surrender has to be to an official authority Sergeant." Kumon said, "More importantly they asked her to take charge of the city and attached territories. It took some quick talking from an actual Goddess but Saotome accepted. So technically Saotome is now the lawful… lawful ruler of this city… I must sound crazy to all of you." The aggrieved tone that came through the radio caused Kawashima to chuckle despite herself. The private next to her tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a giggle.

"No more than people usually do when Neriman Martial Artists are involved sir." Sergeant Mori reassured him.

"I'd like to add something to that but I can't sir." Ito said, sounding just as exasperated as the Lieutenant.

"Thank you, both of you. Point is, however, that I've had to strike a deal with Saotome." Kumon replied, his voice growing grim. "First of all though, two things. First it wasn't just us and Saotome that sent the better part of five thousand men running for their lives. A few weeks back most of their army headed south to head off an invading army that apparently plans to burn the city to the ground. News arrived last night by Raven. The entire army was massacred. Expected survivors are minimal at best."

"Fucking hell." Kawashima muttered before glancing around. Everyone at both tables was listening in as intently as they could.

"It gets worse." Kumon continued, "This city is apparently the center of a melting pot of Nationalistic sentiment. Or more accurately anti-Realm sentiment. A conspiracy has been building up weapons and support to launch a coup. As far as we can tell they aren't ready for this mess. Intelligence is fairly certain that they haven't agreed on how they're going to form a government."

"Civil War." Sergeant Motou rumbled.

"That's precisely the worry we're having up here Sergeant." The Lieutenant agreed. "The local Goddess is putting her support behind Saotome as her preferred choice. Between having knocked out most of the Garrison, having them surrender to her, and the support of the local Goddess I'm currently operating under the assumption that Saotome qualifies as the current government of the City of Greyfalls and its associated Territories. Does anyone disagree?"

Kawashima snorted. When put like that it was hard to say 'no'. Of course… "This is honestly a foreign matter Sir." Ito said. Kawashima sighed. There was always one. "We should not be getting involved."

"Should I take that as 'I am volunteering to march several hundred miles to the next nearest city that isn't in the path of the bloodthirsty army marching towards us during winter conditions' Sergeant?" Kumon asked with brilliantly sharp sarcasm. More than a few of the women around the tea house started laughing. Needless to say there was no love lost for Sergeant Ito amongst them.

Without waiting for the Sergeant's answer Kumon continued, "We are not in Japan Sergeant. In point of fact as far as any of us can tell we are not even on Earth."

Kawashima wanted to be more surprised; and judging by a few gasps around the room, surprisingly not including the young woman next to her, some were; but she'd had a feel about it for quite a while now.

"We are, unfortunately, tied to the fate of this city Sergeant. If we wish to live through the next few weeks we are going to have to help out." Kumon continued, building steam as he went, "To that End I and Sergeant Akiyama have agreed to assist in establishing a formal government with Saotome at its head. Not ideal, I realize that, but this is the situation. We're hoping to head off a Civil War and get this City ready for a siege before the leading elements of the enemy army arrive. For the record we have potentially as few as five days before they arrive. If we're lucky as many as seven. Are there any further issues Sergeant?"

Kawashima chuckled. It was interesting to see Ito get steamrolled in the manner he usually did to others. "No.. Sir." The Sergeant ground out. Ooh, that was probably not going to go over well long term.

"Good. Does anyone else have questions?" The Lieutenant asked.

"Do we have a way to get my people across this river?" Mori asked, his voice crackling with the distance.

"There are ferries we'll need to commandeer later on, once the Realm is finished its pull out." Kumon replied, "Anyone else?"

"I think we're good Sir." Kawashima said into the mic.

"Excellent. Orders are as follows. Corporal take your group and head to the east gate. It's in the district known as High Quarter, which you should already be in. It connects directly to the easternmost plaza. Open the gate and let in Motou and his people. From there the two of you are to head to where Ito and his people dropped in. There's a 105mm artillery piece there. Ammunition included. The issue I need you to solve is that it's apparently not self-propelled."

Kawashima raised an eyebrow. That definitely wasn't one of theirs then. Last time she checked they'd switched over entirely to self-propelled.

"Problem already solved, assuming the plaza has room for an artillery tractor to get in and out?" Motou asked.

"More than enough room… Why do you have a tractor?" Ito asked.

"Same reason you have an artillery piece that needs a tractor." Motou replied, "It's not the only vehicle I've got around here either. I've got a couple of Komatsu LAVs and a Type 74. Sans ammunition, but it's still a Type 74. Also several civilian vehicles. We keep stumbling over things out here."

"I'm sorry." The lieutenant interrupted, "You have a _tank?_ " He sounded about as incredulous as Kawashima felt.

"Without any ammunition." Motou pointed out.

"It's still a tank." Kumon said, to sounds of agreement from everyone else. "Right, Kawashima. Pack up your things and get your group over to the east gate. Get them inside, _now_. Then get that artillery piece and wait for the stream of people coming from Alder Plaza, the area around the fortress, to die down. Once it does get up here. We'll sort things out then and get a group together to take the ferries."

"Yes sir." Kawashima said before looking over to the tables where the rest of her 'off-duty' squad were staring intently at the radio. "Move it you lot! Let the the rest know what's going on and get everyone formed up." Her voice cracked the air and everyone scrambled out of their chairs.

"Motou get closer to the east gate, do not attempt to enter until Kawashima contacts you." Kumon continued issuing orders.

"Sir, yes sir." Motou acknowledged.

Kawashima pushed her chair back and snatched her canteen from the table before latching it back to her harness. She popped a rice cracker into her mouth and smiled. It looked like the waiting had ended for now.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The air was cold compared to the warmth that seemed to simply permeate the Palace, but its was no worse than some nights Ryouga had experienced when wandering. Honestly it was not that bad compared to a mountaintop in winter. The worst part of it was the breeze that ignored the light shirt he was wearing, sending goosebumps across his skill. Still he had been through worse, and frequently at that. This, at least, would only last until the Lieutenant was done barking orders through his radio.

Said Lieutenant slammed his the microphone into its cradle on the dashboard with an expletive. "I am really starting to dislike Sergeant Ito." The Lieutenant growled to Akiyama.

The older man chuckled. "There's a reason he still hasn't managed to get more than one bar on his shoulder." He patted Ryu on the shoulder. "Put him out of your mind for the moment. We've got our own mess to deal with before everyone arrives." He turned to the fourth and final member of their little delegation. "How do you suggest we approach this Sergeant Ragara?" He asked the armoured man.

The man in question snapped to attention as he tore his eyes away from marvelling at the radio. "Without knowing who is in charge I can't suggest much more than what we're already doing. A small group that doesn't appear intimidating." He glanced at Ryouga. "Though I suspect they'll be intimidated anyway."

Ryouga chuckled. "Not my fault you picked a fight." He said with a shrug. "Was I supposed to stand still and let them poke me to death?"

Lockler twitched visibly. "Make that _very_ intimidated." He sighed.

Chuckling Ryouga turned to look at the keep itself. Unlike the styling of the Priory, whose tall pagoda could be seen looming over its enclosing wall, the keep was a six story block of stone and metal in the style of early medieval European castles. The three story barracks building to the side was of a similar style, though unlike the keep it had a more typical sloped roof rather than the crenellations that lined the four towers of the keep. Well they lined most of the keep's walls. What was quite clearly a later addition in a different style than the original keep was the large dining hall that jutted out from the southern side of the keep facing away from the Palace. Its roof was red tiles, more decorative than protective. And he could see the hole Ranma had made with her entrance from where he stood.

"Well, shall we set out then?" Akiyama prodded the Lieutenant who was busy frowning in the direction of the keep.

Ryu sighed and nodded. "Got the flag?" He asked his second. Akiyama reached into the back seat of the LAV and pulled out the white sheet tied to what was once a spear before it had been nearly bent in two. As it was after Ryouga had bent it back it made a half decent flagpole for their makeshift flag. "Right, let's go." Putting word to action he set out for the keep, the motley band of a Lunar Martial Artist, Realm Legionnaire Sergeant, and white flag toting Sergeant Major followed behind.

While it was cold Ryouga was thankful that at least the walk was short. The main entrance faced north towards the palace and on the far side of Garrison Heights from the main gate. It was a testament to how large Garrison Heights really was that it took a good two minutes to cross the packed dirt of the parade ground to reach shouting distance. Well shouting distance where both sides could actually understand one another. Coincidentally shouting distance was also well inside bow range, a fact proven when a single arrow flew down from the parapet of the keep and buried itself in dirt.

"No further!" A young man shouted.

"We're here to talk boy!" Lockler shouted back up to him.

"Like we're going to listen to the words of an Anathema or his traitorous shill!" He shouted back.

Lockler sighed and rolled his shoulders. "Can't say I didn't expect that." He said at a normal volume before shouting back up. "Don't be daft boy! Get someone in charge!"

"Fuck you!"

Ryouga snorted as Ryu concealed a laugh as a cough. "Doing quite the job at liaising aren't you." Ryu said.

The Sergeant sighed. "He doesn't exactly appear willing to get someone else." He said.

"He can't be the only one in there." Akiyama said.

"He probably isn't, but if there's only a handful then he might be the only one on watch right now." Lockler noted, getting nods from both military men.

"Let me try." Ryouga said, stepping forward.

"Good luck." Ryu said.

Ryouga caught the second arrow as it tried to sail straight into his face. Dropping it to the ground he yelled up to the boy, and at this point he was sure that the archer was younger than he was. "Hey! Kid, go get someone with authority!" He shouted.

The only reply he got was another couple of arrows, neither of which came particularly close to him. Behind him Lockler chuckled. "Stupid brat." Ryouga muttered. "Oi! IDIOT! Go get someone, or else I'll tear the door off its hinges and go find them myself." The snickering behind him cut out.

"Like you could do that!" The boy shouted, though he sounded uncertain.

"You really want to test me after last night?" Ryouga asked him. The silence was telling.

"Alright. Just… just stay there. I'll go get the sergeant." The boy sounded like he was sulking.

"Well that was… Diplomatic." Ryu said after a moment.

Akiyama snorted. "It was more effective than Lockler's attempt." He said.

Lockler sent a nasty look at the other sergeant. "Exactly how am I supposed to top threatening to rip a five ton oak door out of its frame?" He asked pointedly.

"You're not." Akiyama replied, "That's why we brought him along."

Ryouga rolled his eyes. "Well he's going to get someone, assuming he isn't just running away." The Lunar noted.

"If he takes too long we can always try your suggestion." Ryu said with a shrug before they settled in to wait. It had to be about ten minutes later when a blond head poked itself over the parapet edge.

"Hello down there!" The voice shouted.

Lockler smiled. "I know that voice." He said to them as he looked up. "Hello up there! I wasn't expecting to see you here of all places Sergeant Taylor."

"Nor was I expecting to see you here in such company Lockler." The man shouted back.

"Strange circumstances lead to strange alliances." Lockler replied.

"Perhaps. Now, state your business Lockler, or begone."

Lockler sighed. "Very well. We are here to secure the Keep and ensure that any possible hostilities are headed off before they can become an issue."

"And how exactly do you intend to do that?" Taylor shouted back.

Lockler smiled. "Preferably by talking. Though my companions here are not adverse to more violent means if necessary. Such a thing would, however, be a waste in the current situation. With the Realm on the retreat what reason do you have to stay here and challenge these gentlemen?"

"I could hardly leave the wounded behind." Taylor shouted, leaning over the parapet as he did.

"Then most of your manpower is tied up as either wounded, or those tending them. Isn't it?" Ryu shouted, getting involved in the conversation.

"What of it? I will not let you and yours into the keep!" The sergeant pounded his fist on the parapet and gestured to them in a clearly rude manner.

"Even if we can help?" Ryouga asked.

"Given you caused many of the injuries, no. Not even then." He shouted back.

"How many wounded do you have in there?" Ryu asked, "A Hundred? Two hundred?"

"Just over a thousand." Taylor admitted grudgingly.

Ryu glanced over at Ryouga, who shrugged. "They were persistent. And in the way." Ryouga said.

The Lieutenant sighed. "I have more personnel coming up from the city Sergeant." Ryu shouted up to Sergeant Taylor. "Some have medical training. While they are hardly doctors can you honestly tell me you have enough men to treat so many wounded?"

"We are doing our best!"

"And will it be good enough?" Akiyama thundered from his place at the back. Without waiting for a response he continued on, marching forward to the front. "You care for these men Sergeant, that much is clear by your refusal to leave, however without proper care how many of them will walk again without a limp? How many could continue to be soldiers, or farmers, or tradesmen? You care enough for them to ignore the order to retreat. So tell me Sergeant, just how far are you willing to go to help them?"

A rather rude gesture and silence was the reply he received. After a few moments he sighed. "Would you be willing to accept aid from those who had a hand in this disaster? We are not your true enemy Sergeant. That foe marches on the city even now. It seeks to burn this city and this keep to the ground. We do not have to fight. Let us in. Let us help." Ryouga's eyes narrowed as he watched the sergeant make his plea. A soft brown glow had just barely begun to form and he could see small particles of dust begin to float off the ground.

Silence stretched on in the wake of his appeal for a time. Then an emotional voice called out, "Alright. Alright." Taylor poked his head back over the parapet. "You've made your point. You…"

"Sir!" The boy from before shouted from somewhere behind the parapet. Words, indistinguishable at such a distance, were traded before Sergeant Taylor returned to view.

"We… We will open the gate and concede the keep, but only if you swear on the Dragons that you shall help these men." The sergeant shouted.

"All of us? Or just one?" Ryu asked.

"Which of you is in charge?" Taylor asked.

"Here and now that would be me." Ryu confirmed.

"Then you. Swear on the Immaculate Dragons you will see these men helped as best you can!"

Ryu glanced to Akiyama who shrugged apologetically, before he sighed and looked to Lockler. "Is this a formal thing or..?" He asked.

"A general Oath to the Dragons should be sufficient. Just be aware that breaking such an oath would be taken poorly." Lockler said.

"Not an issue since I don't break my word." Ryu muttered, before he shouted back up to Taylor. "Very well. I so swear, with the Immaculate Dragons as my witness, that I will help your men to the best of my ability."

Taylor nodded visibly. "That shall do." He shouted back, "Wait there. The gates will be open shortly."

Lockler sighed. "Well, that went better than I feared." He admitted as he gave Akiyama a nervous look. "Though… I wasn't aware that you counted Dragon-Blooded amongst your troops."

Ryu and Akiyama looked at him. "We don't." They both said before they heard Ryouga start laughing. "What?" Ryu asked him.

Chuckling Ryouga shook his head. "I think you mean, you didn't." He said eyeing the rapidly fading, but very familiar, brown glow that clung to Akiyama like a second skin.

Ryu looked at his second and stared. "Since when were you capable of a battle aura Sergeant?" He asked.

"I- This sort of thing was around _everyone_ when we arrived Sir." Akiyama said as he stared at his hand, flexing it curiously.

"Everyone?" Ryu asked.

"Everyone in my group." Akiyama clarified, "When it faded I put it out of my mind. I figured it was a side effect of whatever brought us here." Further discussion was cut off as a loud clunk rang out from the gate and it began to swing open.

"We'll talk about this later, at the afternoon meeting." Ryu said, "Hopefully Setarial can shed some light on this." His companions nodded their agreement and they turned to face Sergeant Taylor as he strode out of the keep.

The Sergeant was clad in full plate, much like Lockler, but that was where the similarities ended. Where Lockler was somewhat round and visibly out of shape Taylor was six and a half feet of rippling muscle. On his back was a sheathed greatsword and, to Ryouga's eye, he walked like a man who knew how to use it. He came to a stop ten feet short of them.

"Gentlemen." He said looking around them before stopping to look at Ryouga. "I could have sworn you were taller." He commented.

Ryouga shrugged. "Bad lighting?" He suggested.

"Lighting and fear I imagine." Lockler said as he stepped forward, right hand held out. "It's good to see you alive Taylor."

"And it is good to see you." The Tanu man said as he stepped forward and shook hands with Lockler. It was an odd handshake, right hands clasped while the left held the forearm of the other's right. "Though I hope I have made the right decision."

"You have. I promise." Lockler said as they stepped back.

Ryu stepped forward. "I'm Second Lieutenant Kumon Ryu. It's good to meet you face to face Sergeant." He said, extending his own hand.

Taylor clasped it in the same manner he had Lockler's and Ryu reciprocated, if with a moment's hesitation. "I wish I could say the same Lieutenant. I'm taking a risk with this. Well, come on in. We have much to discuss." He said as he stepped back.

"Lead the way." Ryu said with gesture to the Keep.

As Ryouga followed them inside his eyes strayed to the men standing guard at the entrance. Clad if heavy leather armour they shifted nervously as Ryouga passed them. They were worried, scared even. Probably of him. Well, served them right for trying to stick him with a bunch of spears. Still it would not be a good idea to let hem stay that scared. They'd probably do something stupid if they did, but what could he do to change their minds...

-0-0-0-0-0-

The home of Staedtler William was large, though in the district of Alder Plaza it was certainly one of the more mid-sized homes. Like most of the other homes in Alder Plaza Staedtler's was a large mansion three stories tall that surrounded a large interior courtyard that was, during the nicer times of the year, filled with flowers.

With the onset of winter the garden was brown and the few trees bare, but from above the garden's unique pattern helped Leitleen to identify the mansion amidst the sea of similar homes that choked the district as much as the convoys of people streaming towards the Canal Gate docks.

As Leitleen circled the house, considering how to approach the master of the home, she watched the couple thousand Dynasts that were scrambling to meet the approaching deadline the Satrap had set. There were fewer than she had expected, but perhaps that was simply because most had already headed for the docks. Either way it mattered little towards the completion of her task.

As she flew over the home for the third time she spotted movement on the third story open-air walkway that surrounded the courtyard. Focusing on it she managed to spot a large older man as he hurried along. Before she could do more than watch he slipped through a set of doors to a room on the east side.

She twisted in the air and swept down along the east side of the house, keeping an eye on the windows as she did. She spotted him again settling at a small table by the window. Pulling a sharp turn she swung around to land on the ledge of the window. The man failed to notice her, having just turned away. She rapped on the window with her beak and he jumped, spinning in his chair to face her. He stared at her for a moment before recognition dawned and he heaved the sliding window open.

"Staedtler, It has been a while." She said with a bow.

"That is has milady." The large man replied, "I must say I was not expecting to play host to a Goddess this morning your grace." She shrugged, her feathers ruffling. He blinked. "Where are my manners. Please, enter. It is quite cold outside." He quickly cleared room on the small table, allowing her to hop inside.

Staedtler stood and wandered over to the room's fireplace where a pipe, shot glasses and a bottle of brandy sat on the mantle. "It has been quite sometime since you last came around Leitleen." He said.

"Not that long." She replied. It was hardly more than a decade and a bit.

"Twenty years is a long time for us mortals." He countered as he carefully poured a measured amount into one glass each.

"Mortals are quite fragile unfortunately." Leitleen simpered as she took a moment to observe the man. He had changed only a little since she last saw him. His head of hair, carefully combed as ever, was more silver-grey than black and there were a few more lines around his eyes and on his hands. His waist had only grown larger, though not as much as some might have. The biggest difference were the jowls that hung low on either side of his face.

"Unlike gods and exalted we must make do with what short time we have." He replied as he carried the shot glasses over to the table. "It is a bit earlier for a drink, but I suspect I shall be wanting for more before this meeting is over. Much like last time."

"Last time was for matters less serious I'm afraid." Leitleen replied.

"Then this would have to do with the kerfuffle consuming the city today." He concluded as he sat down and slid the other glass towards her.

"Yes." She sighed and snagged the shot glass in her beak and threw it back, somehow managing to drain it in one motion without missing a drop.

Unperturbed by the display Staedtler snorted and threw back his own glass of brandy. "I've heard tell that the Satrap has ordered a full withdrawal from the city by all Realm forces. What madness drove him to such a measure I can only guess." He said as he set his glass down.

"Then wonder no longer." Leitleen said with an over dramatic bow, drawing a chuckle from him. "I, Leitleen Goddess of Travelers shall enlighten you." And so she did. It took just over fifteen minutes to tell the tale in its entirety and another two shots of Brandy on the part of Staedtler, but tell it she did.

The older man turned the shot glass over in his hands. He frowned as he set it down and pushed it away. "It's never something small is it…" He sighed. "So General Kitano's army is dead and the Dawn of Vaneha marches onward. This is not good news you bring me, but then you never did back then either."

She sniffed. "You suspected as much when I arrived." She said.

He snorted. "Pillars of daylight during Calibration. A Dragon of Light over Garrison heights! Even a mysterious Tornado that I bet anyone in ten miles could have heard, or seen had it been daylight. That and the commotion in the streets that hasn't quieted down since before daybreak. Hmm. No, I did not expect good news." He said before standing and heading back over to the fireplace. Rather than pour himself another shot he picked up the pipe and started rummaging through a nearby drawer.

"What I do not understand is why Setarial would choose to place her trust in one of the Anathema." He said as he fished out a small box. "Under other circumstances I would be required to report this to the Immaculates."

She chuckled as he pulled the spill from its vase and used it to light his pipe. "Says the man involved in a conspiracy to overthrow the Realm's rule of this nation." He stiffened visibly before relaxing as he took a puff of the pipe. The spill clattered back into its vase, a faint hiss of steam rising from it as he turned around. Pulling the pipe from his lips he exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you of all people found out." He said resignedly, "For the record I only did it to help hold back those damned fools like Bengtsson."

Her chuckles turned into peals of laughter. Wiping away tears with the tip of her wing she quieted her mirth as she took in his blasé expression, his pipe clenched between his teeth. "I am not here to silence you old friend. Did I not just say Milady has placed her faith in one the Immaculates deem 'Anathema'?" She said with as much of a smile as a raven could possess.

"That you did." He sighed, breathing out a cloud of smoke. "I have been trying my upmost to keep that secret safe that fear at its discovery clouded my mind for a moment." He looked her in the eye. "Tell me, how did you find out?"

"Not all Ravens are decorative." She said.

He stared at her for a moment before it dawned on him. "The Harvest Festival." He breathed, "You pretended to be one of the false Ravens that Sung insisted on using to decorate his home."

"That was the confirmation at least." She said, "Some of your other conspirators were not as careful as they should have been open windows."

He sighed and returned to his seat. "Then you know that as a group we are hardly in a position to contest a claim to the City, especially by a group with military already inside the city. We have yet to agree on who to back, let alone begun to organize a force to do so." He said.

"And yet some of your compatriots have already begun stockpiling weapons. In Mist-town no less." She replied.

"What?" He asked, his pipe falling into his hands in surprise. He fumbled it for a moment. "We agreed, no weapons, no armies before we had a candidate we could agree on." He hissed, "Who started this! And in the city where the Dragon-blooded could so easily find out!"

"Bengtsson and Sung are the ones with warehouses full of weapons." She said, observing his reactions. He was honestly surprised, and quite angered, by her information.

"Of course it was them. This last year was the five year Census!" He growled, "What were they thinking."

"You can ask them yourself later tonight." Leitleen said kindly as she patted him awkwardly on the shoulder with one wing.

"At this event you said Setarial wishes to announce her 'chosen one' at?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes, we are inviting a wide selection of people. Conspirators and loyalists alike. We were hoping you might be willing to endorse our selection there."

He hummed thoughtfully as he took another puff of the pipe. "My support would be quite the boon for you, or it could be my end." He noted, "Politically, economically, and socially." He raised a hand to forestall her objections as she opened her beak to speak. "Peace my friend. Peace. I speak merely what we both know to be true. I think it is also true that you intend her to rule for much longer than just this siege. Am I right?"

She sighed. "Yes. You are." She said.

He nodded. "Then I would be remiss in my duty if I simply gave away my loyalty and support without ensuring that by doing so I am best serving my home. Wouldn't you agree?" He prodded.

She nodded. "There is no other answer I can give than yes." She replied.

He chuckled at the annoyed tone of her voice. "This is not a no Leitleen. However if you wish for a yes I will need to meet her, in person. Alone. I must know that I am speaking to her, not to someone being coached." He said firmly, meeting the goddess' gaze with his own. "If she impresses me enough, either with her skill or with her potential, I will commit. You have my word."

She sagged with relief imperceptibly. "That is all we really hoped for." She said before straightening up as best a bird could. "You will need to head up to the Palace soon though. We intend to begin the event around seven tonight."

He grinned around his pipe and glanced over at the Nexus-made grandfather clock in the corner. "The time is ten eighteen. Perhaps I could discuss it with our 'maybe' Queen at lunch? I find good food helps with the tension at meetings like this."

She clucked her tongue reprovingly. "I see your appetite hasn't dulled with age yet." She said.

"I am only forty-four." He replied tartly, "I have plenty of time left to grow 'dull'."

She laughed. "Perhaps you do my friend. Now, I must be off. I have many places to be today. Shall I inform Lady Saotome that you intend to be by around twelve thirty?" She asked, hopping towards the window.

He leaned over and heaved the sliding window open, a stiff cold breeze smacking mortal and goddess in the face, though only the mortal shivered. "I shall be there. Safe travels my friend." He said, clasping his hands in prayer.

She twitched as the words of his prayer reached her. She chuckled. "Am I not the one who is supposed to say such things? May your trip to the palace be quick and safe." She said letting a sliver of her power flow out before throwing herself out of the window, chased by the deep laughter of her old acquaintance.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was the first time Ryouga had ever been inside a proper keep. The ceiling were surprisingly high and the halls surprisingly large, but in the current situation all it felt like was cramped. Sergeant Taylor had led them through the keep and Ryouga had to admit to being surprised at how many people were lying on tables, cots, and the floor when those weren't available. Each room had only a few thin walkways where what few uninjured people there were moved about bringing food, water, and bandages to those who needed them.

In truth Ryouga was surprised at just how many of them there were. He remembered the fight quite clearly, yet other than making sure his strikes disabled rather than killed he couldn't remember individual faces or what happened to them once the battle moved on. To see them laid out in room after room after room groaning, crying and begging for relief.

To his eyes there was surprisingly little blood. Most men had arms and legs in splints, or bandages wrapped around bruises to their faces. A handful had clearly been injured during the flurry of weapons that had been caught in the hiryu shoten ha. There was one thing they all seemed to have in common. Whenever he entered a room it would rapidly get quieter. What little conversation that had been going on would end and everyone would simply look at him, their fear emblazoned on their faces.

It made him feel guilty. It wasn't a feeling he was used to.

Taylor lead them into another room full of crates covered with yet more men. Many were in the process of being treated. Some for what was clearly the first time. "This is the last on this floor." The sergeant said as he looked about the suddenly quieter room. "As you can see we're still trying to patch people up as best we can."

Ryu looked around the room, quietly, before sharing a look with Akiyama. "I was expecting wounded, but this is…" He shook his head, "We'll get everyone we can spare to help out, but I'm not sure how much difference it's going to make."

"If we could get help from people in the town we wouldn't be having this kind of difficulty." The Realm sergeant added.

"I can see about finding doctors once we leave." Lockler said, looking to Ryu.

The Lieutenant nodded. "See what you can do. I'll send a couple of people along with you to help with anything you need." He said.

As they talked about how to see to the needs of the men around them Ryouga's focus was not on the conversation. A young man was lying on one of the crates whimpering in pain as another was trying to straighten his leg so it could be properly. Trying was the key word. The man was in enough pain that he kept twitching viciously every time the other man attempted to lay a hand on the leg.

Ryouga's eyes narrowed and, without thinking about it, he walked over. The conversation behind him died out as they realized he had left. The man with the broken leg went white as he realized Ryouga was headed over to him and tried to scoot away only to muffle a scream as his leg protested the foolish attempt.

The young soldier attempting to work on him spun around, one hand going for his sword, only to freeze as he realized Ryouga was just feet away. "I-I- um. I- Stay back." The man, who was probably a year or two older than Ryouga, said as he tried to draw his blade.

"Put the sword down you idiot." Taylor snapped from across the room. The blade hit the ground with a surprisingly loud clatter.

Ryouga ignored him as he frowned at the man lying on the crate. His leg was bent at an odd angle half-way down, but it didn't appear to have broken the skin. "Don't you have anything you can give him." He asked the terrified man next to him.

"W-we ran out halfway through the last room." He gulped, "The Satrap insisted on taking nearly half the stock when he left, along with the treasury and a bunch of the armory that was left and-"

Ryouga held up a hand. "I get it you don't have much. Fortunately for you I can do something about this." Without waiting for a response from either of the two he reached over and jabbed the man in the leg halfway up his thigh.

The man gasped briefly with pain before sighing with relief, a look of confusion on his face. "I-What did you do? I-I can't feel the pain anymore." He asked, relief and terror warring on his face.

"A pressure point. It should keep you from feeling pain in that leg for about an hour or so." Ryouga said before turning to the other man. "That should be long enough for you to get his leg straightened up, right?"

The young man nodded. "Y-Yes. More than enough." He said as he reached out and prodded the leg, eliciting a response that was decidedly lacking in the response portion of response.

"So you know pressure points." Ryu said, having walked over during the intervening time.

"I know a few." Ryouga admitted, "Not that good with them. I take too much time to find them to make use of them in a fight." It was true as much as he'd practiced pressure points just were not his prefered style.

"But you know a few medical applications." Akiyama observed.

Ryouga chuckled grimly. "Mostly from using them on myself. I've broken more limbs training than half the people in this keep." He said, "I can handle breaks and bruises well enough. Don't need to be a doctor to manage those sorts of things."

Akiyama smiled. "Well then perhaps we have someone who can help out here already." He said, looking to Ryu who nodded thoughtfully before smirking.

"What was it we told Ranma, you break it you buy it?" The Lieutenant said rhetorically.

Ryouga looked around the room wearily. "It's a bit more literal than what happened with her." He noted.

"A bit less as well." Ryu chuckled, "Think you can do help out here for a while? At least until we get some more people up here who have a clue about proper medicine?" He asked.

The martial artist's gaze had continued to wander and he couldn't help but notice that the looks being sent his way were just a bit less terrified than they had been before. Oh half of them still looked like ghosts, but now he suspected only a bit over half of them were from terror rather than nearly all. Maybe helping here would be a good thing, for a bit anyway. Maybe this was what he needed to do.

Unnoticed by Ryogua his caste mark flickered silver for a moment as he looked back to Ryu. "I'll stick around and help out. If nothing else I can help out in place of medicine." He said.

The Lieutenant clapped him on the shoulder and smiled. "Excellent. We'll send people up as soon as we can. Good luck." With that he turned and led the way back to the entrance where Sergeant Taylor had remained talking with Sergeant Ragara.

Ryouga sighed and stretched before turning back to the other two. The pair of soldiers were staring at him with the same confused expressions they had been wearing for the past several minutes. "Well," Ryouga said as he stepped up to the crate, "That leg isn't going to set itself." The young man shook himself and smiled hesitantly before turning back to his comrade. As he set to work Ryouga smiled just a bit. Maybe this would be what he needed to do to keep that nagging feeling of guilt from bugging him any further.

-0-0-0-0-0-

There were times when Ranma was happy she had grown up on the road away from the many stupid asinine and confusing things that people in high society considered 'appropriate conduct'. If course if she had grown up with them she doubted it would have helped much with the lessons Setarial was putting Kodachi and her through.

"Step your right foot back a half foot, like so." Setarial said as she instructed Ranma and Kodachi. Matching word to action her foot slid backward a half foot. "Then bend your knees _slightly_ , too much and a it may be mistaken for either an insult or an attempt to hide greater deference than you intend." Yes because when one curtsied they had to do so with more precision than a laser.

Evidently her surprising companion in this nightmare disguised as an etiquette lesson agreed with her thoughts. "In what place does a bow get given that sort of obsessive attention?" Kodachi asked.

"A Royal court. Or Yu-Shan." Setarial replied, "Some gods enjoy deliberately misunderstanding your intentions at every turn. Someday both of you _will_ find yourself dealing with such gods. Better to get it right from the beginning and not build bad habits than finding yourself in a deathtrap because a minor functionary took offense."

The two Solars shared a look. Ranma looked back at the Goddess with an annoyed expression. "Why do I have the feeling you're speaking from experience?" She asked.

A light dusting of red appeared on the Goddess' cheeks. "I have been around for quite a while, and worked with Solars before yourselves as well. If nothing else I can say such times were never boring." She replied with a slightly wistful tone.

Another look was shared between the Dawn and Zenith. "We're going to be dealing with ordinary _merchants_ for the most part." Kodachi pointed out.

"Merchants and landowners." Setarial corrected, "And they are the ones who _will_ be the courtiers and politicians of your new court. They more than anyone will be on the lookout for anything they can use to their advantage. Now, watch me." She commanded the two. Once they had again shared an exasperated glance and they turned their attention back to her. With one smooth motion her right leg slid back slightly and she bent her knees with her arms held out in a grace and relaxed manner. If Ranma was being honest with herself the Goddess made it look simple. For her that was big if at that moment.

A flutter of wings announced a welcome interruption. Both Solars and the Goddess turned to see Leitleen land on the long table. Further down the table, at the other end of the room, Zeriah glanced up from the papers he was writing on before turning back to his work.

The Raven bowed to the three of them. "I return miladies." She said as she rose from her bow. Ranma's eyebrow twitched at the address.

"So I see." Setarial remarked, "What was Staedtler's response?" She asked.

"Caution mainly." The Raven replied, "As you predicted he has requested to meet her Grace before he makes a choice."

"His support wouldn't be as valuable if he was so easily swayed." Setarial noted absently.

"True." Leitleen agreed, "However he has requested a lunch meeting, around 12:30 with her. Alone."

Settarial blinked. "Alone?" She repeated to herself before nodding thoughtfully. "Yes I can see why."

Ranma's eyebrow twitched. "And would you mind sharing?" She asked with mild annoyance.

"Of course." Setarial smiled. "He wishes to make sure that I'm not merely using you as smokescreen and that you are capable of acting in the roll we are pushing you towards without needing to lean on others. At the same time he hopes that lunch will help reduce any tension and keep it from feeling like the interrogation that actually will be."

"Oh joy." Ranma muttered.

"Tell me how open to our proposal did he seem?" Setarial asked her servant.

"Open enough." The Raven said, "If her grace manages to impress I suspect he will be more than willing." There was a confidence in her voice that certainly helped calm Ranma's slowly fraying nerves.

The other Goddess nodded before turning back to Ranma. "Then all that we have to do is finish preparing you. Not completely mind you, but you must know how to hold yourself as royalty for a meal." The redhead twitched and just barely managed to hold back a sarcastic comment. Setarial continued, "Of course part of being royal is ensuring you know what form of address is acceptable for yourself in a given situation."

Ranma's self-control wavered for a moment. "Oh great." She muttered. She had an idea of where this was going.

"Which means we need to decide, finally, on a title for you." Setarial said. Inside her head Ranma silently added another mark to the 'called it' column. "Now, I understand you do not like either Queen, or Princess, however we do need something."

The two Solars exchanged one last look. Kodachi smiled. After a quiet moment Ranma nodded and looked back at Setarial. "Actually." Ranma said hesitantly. It was now or never. "Actually I have something we need to talk about first."

Setarial raised an eyebrow. "It cannot be put off?" She asked.

Ranma shook her head, sending her braid swinging. "No." She took a deep breath. "Tell me, what do you know about curses?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

*Sleeping Kitsune Cuddling Tail In Office Chair*


	7. Chapter 7 Oaths of Broken Fate Afternoon

The Canal Gate Docks were, on a normal day, the beating heart of the city where trade goods flowed in and out. Thousands worked on the docks, warehouses and factories; on a normal day. This was no normal day; it was, in the opinion of the soon to be former Satrap Nellens Rombulac, the darkest day in the city's history. Certainly it was the darkest in his fifty years of overseeing the Satrapy.

On this not so normal day the docks still bustled, but not with shipwrights or dockworkers. Soldiers, servants and Dynasts ran back and forth loading as many ships as could be found with supplies and artifacts retrieved from homes. As much as they could fit and still carry as many people as possible. With a bit of luck they might be able to carrying everyone.

"No one else has come down mainstreet for the last twenty minutes. We're probably safe to push off once we finish loading the supplies." A sergeant informed him.

Rombulac snorted and peered up at the sun, leaning back on the crate he had appropriated as a chair as he did so. "At a guess I would say it's just passed noon." He mused, "Anyone who was coming has undoubtedly arrived." With a grimace of pain he stood. His left leg was a mess, but at least he hadn't broken anything. The wounds would heal in a few days.

"Shall I pass the word sir?" The sergeant asked.

Rombulac sighed. "The word is we depart in ten minutes, anyone not on board gets left behind." He said. The sergeant snapped a salute and headed back up the dock. The Satrap watched him go before he made his way over to the nearest vessel, a brand new Galley that had finished construction only the day before Calibration. It was more than likely the last such vessel that would sail for the Realm.

Fifteen minutes later every vessel in port began to make their way out into the river, each of them filled to the brim with civilians and soldiers. Over six thousand souls would call those ships home for several months. Their travel was undoubtedly going to be difficult and dangerous, but to a man with long blonde hair who watched them pull out with his telescope from the safety of the High Quarter wall it was just one more mixed blessing of the last day.

Bengtsson Gehard closed his telescope with a click. "On any other day I would be happy for them to leave." He said to the small group of people around him.

"Their timing is as inconvenient as ever." A heavyset man agreed from where he leaned against the parapet. "We aren't ready for this."

"And we still have to deal with the fact that they were just forced out." Gehard added as he stepped back. "We'll just have to move quickly. Spread the word in Mist-town, that's where we'll find as many recruits as we need."

"What about Sung? He won't take a move like that lying down. You know he's watching." The man replied.

Bengtsson smiled toothily. "I know, and that's why you're going to take a group of my guards and storm his quaint household up in Alder Plaza. While you're doing that I'll get our people organized down in Mist-Town."

"Perhaps you would might consider doing this without violence?" A woman said from behind Bengtsson… Behind him where the only open space was the open air beyond the wall…

Bengtsson spun about, one hand flying to the blade at his waist. He had it halfway out of its sheath by the time he laid eyes on the speaker. The blade froze, barely more than a quarter of its length still sheathed. Even as irreverent as he was there were lines that simply weren't crossed on a whim. Attacking the Goddess of Travelers and messenger of Setarial was near the top of the list.

Eyeing the black feathered Raven carefully he slid his blade back into its sheath. "A good choice." The Raven Goddess said calmly as she settled on the parapet.

He licked his suddenly dry lips. "What business would be so important as to bring the Goddess of Travelers down from her perch atop the falls?" He asked as he bowed deeply.

"That which affects the stability and safety of Greyfalls is my business." She replied tersely. "Tell me Bengtsson Gehard, son of Bengtsson Kuhlbert, what is it that you know of the departure of the Realm?"

"They flee the City because of a force of some kind that took the fortress from them." Bengtsson said, "Word on the street speaks of Anathema falling from the sky and tornados spawning from clear skies." He himself had slept through the events of the night before in the arms of his wife and had missed the events himself.

"Then you know only part of the events of last night." Leitleen replied. "This evening milady Setarial, Lady of the Glittering Eastern Lights, shall be hosting a ball at which she will give her blessing to one of the attendees. You and your family are invited." Her tone of voice made it clear to Bengtsson that it was less invitation and more Divine command. "Until after the proceedings we ask that all attendees refrain from any actions that might destabilize the situation further."

Bengtsson bowed again in order to hide the frown he could not keep from showing. "It will be an honour to attend a ball hosted by the Goddess of the City herself." He said with as much grace as he could muster.

"Until then Bengtsson Gehard." Leitleen curtsied as much as a raven could before taking to the skies again.

It wasn't until she was out of sight that Bengtsson let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Fuck." He said.

"D-Did that just happen?" The heavyset man asked.

"Yes Rosston, yes it did." Bengtsson replied. "It also means that the Gods are getting involved in this mess."

"That is not a good sign for us is it?"

"Not in the least." He sighed. "We need to assume that everyone of any standing in the City is being invited. That means Sung's home will not be unguarded, and we can't take the risk that Leitleen or another of the Goddess's servants is keeping an eye on him in case we do something. We need to change plans. Rosston, you are heading down to Mist-town. Get people organized and prepared."

"Sir." Rosston saluted sloppily.

Bengtsson ignored his second's poor salute and scanned his nervous group of supporters. At the back he spotted the one he wanted. "Gehard, get over here boy." He snapped. The group parted and a boy about fifteen years of age, short with lanky limbs that seemed too thin for his build, nervously made his way forward.

"Yes father?" He asked once he made his way forward.

"Straighten up, come on now." He said with a disapproving look. His second son, Bengtsson Gehard the Second, was frail and nervous at the best of times, though he at least had a good head for numbers. Still the boy was little more than a shadow of his brother.

Gehard made a visible attempt, but he continued to shake visibly. His father tsked. "Head back home boy. Tell your brother Karl he is to go and join Rosston in readying the men, then get yourself and your mother ready. The two of you will accompany me to this 'ball' the Goddess is hosting."

The boy rocked back, surprise overtaking his normal nervousness. "M-Me?" He stuttered.

"Yes you. I have things I need your brother to deal with, so you are coming." Bengtsson snapped. He left out that if the ball turned out to be a trap he wanted his favoured son as far from the mess as possible.

The boy deflated slightly. "Yes father, as you wish." He said.

"Get out of here then." The boy scurried away down the stairs to the street. Two members of Bengtsson's guard followed him without a word. Nearly useless he might have been, but he was still a Bengtsson and would be protected as such.

"Now, for the rest of you." Bengtsson said to the rest of his retinue, "This is what we shall do."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter Six: Oaths of Broken Fate

Part Two: Afternoon

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

Staedtler lifted his arms as one of his servants helped him into a heavier set of robes. The chill of winter had come roaring in with an alacrity he had never before seen and his normal mode of dress was going to be far too chilly for the trip up to the palace.

"The City is in chaos, even I can see that." He stifled a sigh as his wife spoke up once again. "Why must you go out into this mess?"

"When a Goddess requests something of you only a fool declines." He reminded her, "With the evacuation of the Dynasts this is even more true than before my Lily." He tugged at the collar of his robes as his servant finished tying them shut. He turned around to face his wife. "Well, do I look presentable enough for Royalty?" He asked with arms wide.

She scoffed before smiling. "As dignified as you ever are I suppose." She sniffed before her expression fell once more. "She is asking you to meet with an Anathema! Perhaps even endorse one. I just… I cannot fathom what she is thinking."

Staedtler sighed. "Yes well. I will meet with this anathema and then… then I must make a decision. An honest decision." He held up a hand to forestall his wife's complaints. "I know, I know. I realize how that sounds, but immaculate dogma aside I must make the best decision for the city, for our family. With the sudden departure of our Overlords there is a vacuum, one that unless filled with all due haste could engulf us in a civil war when we can least afford it. If this Anthema, this.. Girl…." He sighed and nervously wrung his hands.

His wife noticed immediately. "This bothers you quite a bit." She noted before stepping forward. "Leave." She said to the pair of servants in the bedroom. They bowed and quickly scurried out of the room, closing the double doors behind them as they went. "This worries you more than you'd care to admit." She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him.

He chuckled softly and wrapped her in a hug. "Yes it does. Last night my worries were whether or not I could restrain the bloodlust of that fool Bengtsson, now they have grown exponentially and without warning. This girl… There are so many stories about Anathema, I have no doubt at least some are true. And yet unless I wish to see this city fall to infighting before our enemies even reach our gates I must risk it."

She kissed him gently on the cheek. "Be careful." She said as she stepped back, "I do not wish to become a widow just yet." He caught her hand and brought it up, bending to kiss it gently.

"Unless I am wrong, I do not think it is my life for which we must fear. Not yet at least." He replied before lifting a scarf from where the servants had left it. He wrapped it tightly around his neck before selecting a dark bowler hat from the nearby rack.

"Well I will wait then, with baited breath perhaps?" She replied.

He chuckled at her snark. "My Lily, I promise I will return." He said as he retrieved a silver inlaid oak walking cane. He turned to her. "Now as much as I would love to wile away the rest of the day in your company I'm afraid I have a lunch I must away to."

A flicker of a frown returned to her face before she sighed. "Go then, and be safe." She said with a curtsy.

He chuckled and pulled her close, drawing a surprised squeak from his wife of twenty-seven years. He kissed her on the forehead. "I shall be as safe I as I can be." He said before sweeping from the room. Behind him he could hear her flustered, and muffled, cursing. He chuckled as he made his way downstairs to the entrance hall.

The sight of four of his guards in half plate, with broadswords at their hips and round shields on their backs, brought and end to his levity. "Sir." They bowed as soon as they spotted him.

"Ross. Ready to leave?" He asked the lead guard.

The large man tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword. "I wish you would consider the use of the carriage. With the city as it is-" He began.

"The odds of something happening and the street being blocked are too high Ross." Staedtler said, cutting off the man who led the ten men he kept around for security. "Garrison Heights is not even a ten minute walk, and I would prefer to have free reign to speak with anyone we might come across on our way."

"Alder Plaza is nearly a ghost town from what I've seen." Ross said, "I doubt there will be anyone out on the streets today. Not with the tension in the air."

Staedtler sighed and strode across the room to the door, behind him his guard formed up without a word. "The city is like an open barrel of firedust. One spark and it will burn. Only by listening to the people can I know if that spark will appear today, or tomorrow, or a month down the line." He said.

"Understood." Ross said with a bow. He had worked for the merchant long enough to know when to stop pressing.

Staedtler adjusted his scarf before, cane in one hand, he pushed open the front door and stepped out into the city. The cold air lashed at his face. A breeze had kicked up at some point since he had last been outside, and he could feel how close to freezing the temperature had gotten.

The streets of Alder Plaza were rarely bustling, though they had been the last couple days as part of the yearly Calibration celebrations, but only twice before had Staedtler seen them utterly deserted. Even striding out into the cobbled street to look up and down the street as far as he could failed to yield a single person.

"Sir?" Ross prompted after a minute's search.

"Lets us be away." Staedtler said after another moment, before he lead the way up the street towards the main thoroughfare. As they walked along street Staedtler took note of abandoned carts, some filled with boxes and others completely empty, and homes, both mansions and upper class apartments, with their main doors thrown wide. Flickering lights from abandoned fireplaces and candles could be seen inside a few. Staedtler had grown up and lived his entire life in Greyfalls. To see Alder Plaza this empty, this desolate and abandoned. He shivered, and not because of the cold.

"I never realized how many people here were Dynasts." One of his guards mussed as he kept an eye on the side streets they passed.

"Alder Plaza's population was two thirds Islanders." Another one said, "If they all up and left…"

"Not everyone did." Ross interrupted as they passed a bakery. Staedtler followed his bodyguard's gaze and spotted a young woman peeking out the second story window.

"Miss Wen!" The merchant called up. She flinched before recognizing him.

"Mr. Staedtler." She said, pushing the window open just a bit.

"How are you today?" He asked.

"How do you think I am?" She snapped, a hint of panic audible in her voice. "Anathema! Here, in the city!" Her breathes came in short gasps and for a moment she teetered on the edge of fainting before she took a deep steadying breath. "And rather than fight the Legion, they- they say they're evacuating. They're abandoning us!" She started crying.

Staedtler winced. "You're from the Blessed Isle if I recall." He said, "Why not go with them?"

"Hah!" She barked between tears. "I may be from the Blessed Isle, but I am no Dynast. Everything I have, everyone I know is here. If I returned to the Isle I would have nothing. I would be less than all but the slaves."

Staedtler frowned. "I see." He sighed. "Stay inside for now Miss Wen, today and tomorrow are likely to be dangerous for anyone on the streets."

"No need to tell me that." She snapped as she pulled back inside her apartment. The wooden shutters clattered against the window frame as she pulled them shut.

"So not everyone left." The first guard said, "just everyone with any influence or money."

"This is going to be hard on the city isn't it?" The second asked Staedtler.

He sighed. "The city will recover in time. Assuming we live through the next few weeks." He said as he started back down the street. His guards followed silently. Twice more they stopped and spoke with people, twice more his impressions of the state of the city grew more pronounced. Everyone was tense and afraid. Afraid of the Anathema, of the unknown, and even of eachother. There was anger as well, mainly focused towards the Legion and the Realm. Compared to the fear the anger was minor, but that could change quickly if certain parties started stoking the flames.

"It's exactly as you said." Ross said as they turned onto the main road to Garrison Heights. More people could be seen in the windows of stores and apartments than in the richer side streets of Alder Plaza. "One spark…"

"Their feelings of anger are overshadowed by their fear right now." Staedtler noted, his hand clenching tight around the handle of his cane. "But given the right motivation that could change quickly. I'm sure Bengtsson would love to take advantage of this madness."

Ross stayed silent as they walked, the only noise in the streets was the wind and the clack of Staedtler's cane on the cobbled street. They had just started up the rise to the gates of Garrison Heights when Staedtler paused. Something felt off. A low rumble through the ground. For a moment he wondered if the gods were cruel enough to inflict an earthquake on the city on top of everything thing else. Then he heard it, a low rattle that thrumbed in sync with the rumble of the earth.

"What is that?" Ross asked as he and the rest turned to look back down the main road towards the source of the strange sound. Staedtler turned to look as well, and sucked in a deep breath as he spotted the source of the commotion.

It was large, smaller than a warstrider but that was cold comfort. Where a warstrider was tall and shaped like a man this thing was low, wide and long. A metal box painted in sickening browns and greens that rumbled forward, pulled by strange strips of… metal? He couldn't tell from this distance, but they appeared to be some madman's attempt to imitate the locomotion of a worm or caterpillar. Atop the square box of its main body sat a squat round bulb with a long metal rod protruding from it. A weapon of some kind, perhaps a giant firewand? The rumble grew louder as it rolled towards them, and shortly they could hear the sound of crumbling stone as the machine literally crushed the cobbled road beneath its weight.

"What hell did that thing come from?" One of his guards exclaimed, his hand twitching towards his sword.

"Where ever it came from it didn't come alone." Ross said, his own hand well away from his own blade. "Look, behind it." Smaller machines crested the hill behind the metal monster. None were at intimidating as the first machine, but several were of substantial size nonetheless. More importantly, however, he could see people either inside them or hanging onto them as they slowly followed the first or their kind towards the fortress.

"Stand down." Staedtler ordered, "I have no doubt that these people are aligned with the young woman we are here to speak with, and your swords would be of no use against that monster of a machine."

"Where did it come from?" Ross wondered.

"From an old ruin somewhere I imagine." His boss replied before turning and starting up the ramp once again, though more to one side than he had before. "Come, we'll be late unless we keep moving."

The ramp up was long, but they had a lead on the machine. Even so it managed to covered the length of the main road and reach the ramp before they had hiked even a quarter of the way up.

They paused in their ascent as the monstrous machine rumbled to a stop beside them. A hatch popped on the top of the machine and a woman in a uniform stuck her head out. "Hello there!" She said.

He tipped his hat. "Good… Afternoon I believe it is?" He greeted. The bells that normally tolled the hour from Garrison Heights had been silent since the evening before.

"Getting there I expect." The woman said as she took a drag from her canteen. "Corporal Kawashima, and you are?" She asked.

Definitely blunt, and also definitely military. "Staedtler William, owner and operator of Staedtler Exotic Imports." He said with a small bow. "I was summoned to the Palace by the Goddess Setarial. There is someone with whom I am to meet."

She frowned at him before ducking back inside. "Give me a moment." She called, her voice barely audible over the rumble of the machine. He exchanged a look with his head bodyguard who shrugged, and kept his hand well away from his weapons.

Taking the free moment he had been given the merchant turned his attention to the machines following the steel monstrosity before him. Where the first machine had great treads in imitation of a caterpillar the following machines had wheels of… rubber unless he missed his guess. Well that would certainly hold up better than wood now that he thought about it. Still the differences did not end there. Screens of what he suspected was glass allowed him to see inside the machines and see their occupants. Many wore the same uniform as the Corporal, but even more wore a wide variety of clothes in styles that he, despite his many years as a merchant, had never seen before.

The corporal popped back out of the hatch. "Your story checks out." She said.

Staedtler raised an eyebrow. How could she know that without… perhaps some form of artifact or perhaps she was a sorcerer of some kind. Either way what mattered was she didn't believe him to be a threat, which was good.

"Since you're heading up to the Castle, you want a ride? I think we've got enough room we could squeeze you in." She offered.

Staedtler shook his head. "I will be fine. A brisk walk like this will do me good." He patted his round stomach for emphasis.

She chuckled. "I suspect it'll take more than a single walk up a hill to deal with that."

"Perhaps my dear. Perhaps." He allowed with a bow.

"Safe walk, and try to keep out off the path this thing leaves. Not sure how stable the footing will be." Kawashima patted her machine before ducking back inside. It roared and began to move forward once more.

Staedtler stepped back to give it the convoy more room. He watched carefully as each machine rolled by. The first thing he noticed was how few people were in uniform compared to those who weren't. The second were the odd looking firewands each of them carried. It was odd to see so many people equipped with the odd weapon from the south. It did give weight to his theory about the first machine though.

After the last machine rolled by Staedtler turned to Ross. "That machine certainly makes a good first impression." He said.

His head guard nodded. "It's different than a warstrider though. Less majestic, more primal. Like standing next to a great beast." Ross said.

"I agree." The merchant smiled. "It is time we saw what else these strangers have to offer. Come on all of you, this ramp won't climb itself." With that he started up the remaining twenty meters to the gate of Garrison Heights.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I see." Setarial sighed as Ranma finished telling her about the gender curse that she had been dealing with for several years. "Certainly unusual, in application if nothing else. I have seen people, Solars and Lunars alike, change gender before through a variety of methods."

"Can you do something about this?" Ranma asked.

Setarial shook her head after a moment. "Not quickly I'm afraid. While I do know sorcery spells that alter the form of others were never of interest to me, and spells to alter myself were never needed. The forms of Gods are mutable to a significant degree, though I've only rarely needed to take advantage of that in the past…" She mused.

The redhead sighed and sat down in the high-backed chair at the head of the table. The fact that a quick solution to her issues was not available was not a surprise to her. After several years of dealing with the curse she was used to that. "You can fix it though?" She asked.

"Oh more than likely." Setarial said, "Still I would have to study you to determine the exact nature of the transformation, then from their work either on a countermeasure or devise a method of transforming you into your desired shape. Either one is a significant investment of time that I can't guarantee will be available. Truthfully it might be simpler for me to teach you sorcery and let you handle the matter on your own."

"You can teach sorcery?" Kodachi asked.

The Goddess smiled. "Oh yes. Even mortals can learn sorcery since it draws on powers outside themselves." She said, "Normally for mortals such a feat would take years, but Solars such as yourselves can normally attain decent proficiency in a few weeks to months. It does vary a bit."

To learn _sorcery_ … Ranma traced the carving on the right arm of the chair as she thought. It was both an exciting thought and a terrifying one. Having been on the receiving end of mere artifacts many times she had to wonder what magic proper sorcery could achieve.

"Would you teach me?" Ranma asked finally.

"When we have time." Setarial replied, "Even the most talented require days of painstaking work to understand even the Terrestrial Circle of magic. I doubt we'll have entire days to work with any time soon."

The Dawn grimaced. "No kidding. An entire army is coming here… You know last night was the biggest fight I've ever been in before." Ranma said.

"You handled yourself well." The Goddess praised.

She waved it off. "Largest fight in terms of people. I've been in fights with a lot stronger people than we saw last night. I'm just…" She trailed off searching for words.

"Having issues picturing a larger battle?" Kodachi suggested.

"Yeah that." Ranma agreed, "I had to break out the Hiryu Shoten Ha on a bunch of guys who can't take a hit. I don't think I'll be able to afford to pull my punches in a bigger fight."

"Regardless of how little you enjoy killing," Setarial began, "a quick death on the battlefield might be preferable to being crippled for life like many of those you fought last night."

"They won't be crippled if they get treated right." Ranma said with an airy wave, "I know how to leave clean breaks when hitting someone. Most of them will be fine in a couple months at most."

"I see…" The Goddess said thoughtfully. For a moment Ranma could have sworn she saw a look of exasperation on the Goddess' face, then it was gone. "On the matter of Sorcery I can begin teaching you once we have available time. Three hours at once at the very least. The occult secrets of reality aren't shared in an afternoon…" Her eyes flickered to Kodachi. "That applies to both of you if you wish. Teaching one, or teaching ten matters little in this case."

Kodachi looked thoughtful for a moment before going pale. "N-no I'm good." She squeaked.

Ranma stared at her flatly for a moment. She was sure that the nervous girl had suddenly imagined what it would have been like if her old self had had that sort of power. It was a thought that scared Ranma quite a bit as well to be honest. The old Kodachi had been arrogant and insufferable, and been bad enough with just rhythmic gymnastics to rely on. Adding reality breaking power to that? She barely suppressed a shudder.

"The offer will remain open if you wish to learn at a later date." Setarial said kindly, "Still I doubt we'll begin for several weeks at the least."

"I'm good, really." Kodachi insisted in a more normal voice.

"Very well." Setarial bowed to her before straightening to look to Ranma. "This still leaves us with the dilemma of what title you shall be adopting. While I can understand your inherent dislike of such an obviously feminine title such as Princess we still need to decide on something."

"Perhaps, King? Or Prince would be possible?" Kodachi suggested, "A bit unusual for a woman but under the circumstances."

Setarial frowned. "Hm… No, I don't think we can go with that."

"Why not?" Ranma asked. She tried to hide the frown that was forming as the discussion moved onto titles. Royal titles at that. Every time she had encountered 'royalty' of one kind or another things had gone belly up not even five minutes into the encounter. Prince Herb might have been the most prominent, but he was hardly the only Prince she had fought in the past, and none of them had left a good impression. Though Toma hadn't been that terrible once they'd beaten it into him that kidnapping their friends was a bad idea…. He was still a kidnapper though.

"The Realm is very much egalitarian in its treatment of men and women, the same goes for the Hundred Kingdoms thanks to the influence of the Seventh Legion in Lookshy." Setarial said, "However it does have its limits and Titles are very much structured based on the recipients gender. Prince and Princess, Duke and Duchess, Count and Countess, amongst a few. Going against this may offend some more conservative members of Greyfalls."

"And our position is precarious enough without possibly giving insult by ignoring local conventions." Kodachi sighed. She scowled.

Ranma snorted. "And I've been afraid to ignore things like this since?" She said, raising an eyebrow at Kodachi, who blushed.

"Insulting me when I was acting like a lunatic is one thing. The same with dealing with my father and his… unfortunately questionable sanity." Kodachi said, "This, however, could have far more deadly consequences."

"The wrong title could have deadly consequences?" Ranma deadpanned.

"Depending on the title, yes." Setarial said, "While something like King, or Prince is unlikely to cause issue by itself, it would be just another strike against you in the eyes of some along with 'foreigner' and 'anathema'. A minor one in comparison, but this is a tightrope we are walking and if we stray too far we might find ourselves with a battle in the streets."

Right, civil war… Ranma groaned and rubbed her forehead. Politics was getting tiresome very quickly, and she hadn't even had to deal with anyone in person yet.

"To give an example of just how dangerous a title is…" Setarial gestured to Ranma's hair, "One could describe your hair as being Scarlet, and if we paired that with Empress…."

Kodachi understood first. "Oh dear. Yes that would insult the Realm quite a bit I imagine." She said with a nervous frown.

"Right, the Scarlet Empress is the ruler of the Realm right?" Ranma said after moment.

"She was until she disappeared five years ago." Setarial said, "The loss of a Satrapy is unfortunate, but the Realm has lost a fair few these passed few years. I have no doubt that the Realm will one day attempt to seize whatever we build here, but that is a minor priority compared to the many much larger and more profitable holdings they have closer to home. If you were to lay claim to the title of their missing Empress however…"

Ranma sighed. "They'd come screaming for my head at the first chance they got I bet." She said flatly.

"More than likely. While it is an extreme example it does make my point. A title can have an effect, and while something as minor as calling a girl a Prince won't have the same effect, it could be the tipping point in people's opinion." The Goddess finished.

"Still, there are neutral titles." Kodachi said, "Daimyo is one from home."

"And an insult to the Lookshy." Setarial said.

"How?" Ranma asked with a groan. While the idea of being a Daimyo was not appealing, it was something she could accept. It was familiar if nothing else.

"Lookshy was founded and is ruled by the descendents of the Seventh Legion of the Shogunate. The Shogunate ruled Creation after the Dragon-blooded overthrew the Solar Deliberative. It lasted until the Great Contagion and the Fair Folk invasion that immediately followed. Its regional rulers were Daimyos. Lookshy could take that title as an affront to their honour, and unlike the Realm they do have the time and manpower to spare to lay siege." The Goddess said.

Kodachi sighed and took the chair next to Ranma. "This is… Proving harder than I thought." She admitted before sparing Ranma a glance. "Unless you what to simply accept being called Queen?"

Ranma twitched. Visions of her mother finding her and trying to take her head off with the family katana danced in her head. Despite her mother having said, herself, that the contract was fulfilled the woman was still obsessed with manliness… "No means no." She reaffirmed.

The black-haired young woman groaned quietly. "I'm running out of ideas appropriate for a ruler of a nation." She said.

"Nearly any word can become a title if used correctly." Setarial said, "Words like Protector, or Imperator, or even more innocuous words like Lotus have been used as titles."

"Not getting named after a flower." Ranma said dryly, before sighing.

"Excuse me." Three pairs of eyes looked to the far end of the table where the Magistrate Zeriah was sitting. "Would you mind if I offered my insight into this?" He asked.

"Go ahead." Ranma said. The three of them were on the verge of going in circles.

The magistrate recapped his inkwell and set his dip pen down beside it. "You said earlier that you had met royalty before. Would I be wrong to say that from your experiences you have a less than positive impression?" He asked.

Ranma's frown deepened. Herb, Toma, that Lucky Seven Gods Prince… There had been one or two more besides them both men and women, but those were the three that stuck out the most from the rest of the madness that was her life. "You'd be right." She said eventually.

"I imagine that there must be a few stories behind those." Zeriah mused.

The redhead snorted. "The worst one ended with me using his face to break a mountain." She said. An odd noise forced her to look to Setarial, who was staring at her in surprise. "What?"

The Goddess cleared her throat. "To clarify, you only Exalted last night, correct?" She asked.

"Yeah." Ranma said, "Not like I did most of the damage. Bastard had nearly split the mountain in two before I managed to catch him in a Hiryu Shoten Ha. Blasted him down into the crevice he'd carved into the mountain. The mountain couldn't take any more and just fell apart."

"I see." Setarial mumbled.

"Certainly impressive." Zeriah said, like the Goddess he seemed to be surprised. "My point, however, is that perhaps you are approaching this from the wrong angle. You have been looking at what role you are to take, that of a Queen or Empress, and thinking that you must take a grand ostentatious title that befits such a role."

"Something simpler is what you're suggesting?" Kodachi asked.

"If appropriate." Zeriah said, "I have one more question I need answered before I can offer a suggestion."

Ranma shrugged. "Okay, shoot." She said.

The Magistrate leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his clasped hands. " _Why_ did you accept?" He asked, "You obviously have good reason to dislike or even hate the idea of Royalty. You disdain traditional titles, even excluding your understandable gender issues. So why? Why accept a request that puts you in a position you obviously neither enjoy nor desire?"

Ranma opened her mouth to respond, then closed it as the Goddess and Kodachi turned to look at her, curious expressions on their faces. Ranma sighed before make eye contact with Setarial. The Goddess' eye shone, almost literally, with curiosity.

After a few more moments Ranma started talking. "A few reason I guess." She said, "I don't want to be 'royalty', and I don't want to deal with royalty. You're right about that. I'm not doing this because it's something I want. I'm doing this because of her." She looked Setarial in the eye. "I've had a run in with a few things in the past that mighta been gods. All of them had an ego bigger than this city. None o' them would have gotten down on their knees and begged someone they'd just met to save… anyone. Except maybe themselves. Even then I doubt it."

Setarial bowed. "I am the Goddess of this City. It safety and prosperity are my greatest concerns, everything else, including my pride, comes second to that duty." She said modestly.

"If only more gods had that view." Zeriah said with his own half-bow.

"Yeah, that." Ranma sighed. "Other than that, well we don't exactly have anywhere to go. This city is one dropped hat away from tearing itself apart. I don't know anything about politics, but the mess this we've stumbled into needs someone to step up and _make people listen_."

Kodachi leaned over and took one of Ranma's hands. "And we sort of pushed you into this, didn't we." She smiled sadly and a couple tears could be seen glimmering in her eyes. "I shouldn't have said anything. I'm-"

"Don't." Ranma said as she saw the tears forming. "This ain't your fault. I don't like this, that's right, but they're right. Out of all of us I'm the only one who _might_ be able to get this to work."

Setarial bowed low. "Even so." She said regretfully, "I am sorry for placing you in a position that you dislike so much. It never crossed my mind that you would dislike the idea of being royalty so much. Even after you brought up your… experiences with others."

Ranma waved her off with her free hand. "It's fine." She said, "Look, I might not like this, but I agreed to it. That is it." She looked Zeriah square in the eye. "That answer your question Magistrate?" She asked archly, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Very well your Grace." He replied with a stiff half-bow. His injuries from earlier prevented him from doing more, but the sentiment was there. "You do this due to duty, perceived or otherwise." He said, "May I suggest then the title of Castellan."

"That normally refers to someone who manages a fort or castle on behalf of a lord." Kodachi said, straightening up and wiping the tears from her eyes. "Hardly fitting for a ruler of a _nation_."

Zeriah smiled. "Their duties also include managing the territories around said forts or castles. Still you are normally correct, however we have already established that traditional titles, or even elaborate new ones, are unacceptable to our new Ruler." He bowed his head to Ranma, who snorted at the show of subservience. It annoyed her.

"Get on with it." She prodded.

"As you command." He said with a smile, "You are only doing this because Lady Setarial asked it of you. Also your authority as a ruler is derived from two sources. The surrender of the City by Lily and myself, and more importantly, from Setarial's blessing. While the first will give you legitimacy in the eyes of the Confederation of Rivers, it is the second that will matter most to the people of Greyfalls. If you look at it from the correct angle you rule because she gave you the City and asked that you safeguard its people."

"Like a Castellan with a castle." Setarial said with a smile, "Yes I see where you are going with this Zeriah. The suggested humility in such a title would also be boon when dealing with the merchants and soon to be nobles of Greyfalls. It also carries connotations of protection and defence that might help when dealing with neighbouring countries that would no doubt be worried that we might turn on them."

Ranma looked between the two of them before turning to Kodachi who was visibly thinking. "Your thoughts?" She asked the dark haired girl.

"It's hardly a traditional title for the ruler of a nation…" She trailed off and sighed. "However that doesn't matter. Nothing today has been traditional. His suggestion is a good one I have to admit. Castellans can also be men or women so that's not an issue either." Ranma twitched. "I have to agree with them. I like it." Kodachi concluded with a small smile.

A knock at the door interrupted further debate. "Come in." Ranma called.

Lady Bretegani eased open the door and bowed. "Your Grace, Mr. Staedtler has been spotted coming up the ramp to Garrison Heights. He will be here within minutes I imagine." She said as she rose.

"Thank you, Lady Bretegani." Setarial said.

"We have set up one of the sitting rooms down the hallway. Would you like me to show you there now, or later after he has arrived?" She asked.

"Give us a moment." Ranma said before turning her thoughts inward. Ranma frowned and tapped the table with a finger as she thought. Castellan, it wasn't Queen, or Princess, or any other very feminine title that was as likely to get her head chopped off as it was to get her mocked by Ryouga. She had no issues with anything else surrounding it, and she was not doing this because she wanted an empire. So….

The redhead looked around at the expectant faces that surrounded her. "Fine." She said with a sigh and a smile as an invisible weight lifted from her shoulders. "Castellan it is."

"A wise choice your Grace." Zeriah said with another half bow.

"A good choice Ranma." Kodachi smiled.

"And just in time." Setarial noted, "We should break for now Castellan." Ranma blinked at the title, it felt odd being referred to by a proper title. "You have a lunch meeting to get to and I have several things I must set into motion for tonight." She looked to Kodachi, "And I should remind you that her Grace's meeting is to be _alone_."

Kodachi twitched. "I am aware." She said, "Though what I am supposed to do for now I have no idea." Her stomach took that moment to grumble loudly. She blushed as soft chuckles rolled around the room. "Perhaps food would be a good idea." She allowed.

"If I might suggest something milady." Lady Bretegani said.

"Go ahead." Kodachi said.

"The first group of your people are arriving here as we speak. I have had the servants set up food and tables of blankets in the entry hall and adjoining rooms. Perhaps you should go see to them while her Grace meets with Sir Staedtler. If nothing else there is plenty of food." The seneschal of the Scintillating River Palace suggested.

"Not a bad idea." Ranma said looking at the other girl who nodded.

"I'll see if there's anyone else we know among them." Kodachi promised.

"Great." Ranma stood, smoothing her kimono-esque dress as she stood before taking Mnemmon's Blade from the table. "Meeting adjourned." She looked to Lady Bretegani and smiled, "Lead the way."

Lady Bretegani smiled and bowed. "This way Lady Castellan." She said with a sweep of her arms towards the door. Ranma twitched before sighing. She should have expected that.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The entrance hall was already bustling with people bundled in blankets by the time Kodachi reached it. She paused near the top of the stairs and looked down into the entrance hall. People were sitting on the stairs, in corners, and could be seen through doorways into sitting rooms around the vast hall. And yet, more people were streaming in through the front doors.

She glanced around and spotted Corporal Kita and her squad helping keep people organized alongside numerous other soldiers, again mostly women, who she didn't recognize. The noise of conversation and shouted orders had been loud and indecipherable down the hallway and even being so close it was hard to make out individual words or voices.

She took the steps down into the chaos one at a time, she was not in a hurry and it gave her time to simply survey the gathering. The non-military people from Japan were a mixed lot. Many were dressed for a summer day with light dresses, t-shirts, and tank tops being common. Others had clearly been involved in a variety of businesses. People wearing suits, lab coats, and construction safety vests made up a notable percentage of the group.

As she descended the stairs she made eye contact with Corporal Kita who patted the soldier she was standing next on the shoulder and made her way over to meet Kodachi as she dismounted the stairs.

"Miss Kuno." She said with a smile.

"Corporal Kita, how are things here?" Kodachi asked as she looked around. A number of people had claimed the corners of the hall and were nursing steaming cups as they huddled in the blankets they had been given. More than a few were looking at her with curious eyes.

"It's not as bad as we feared, but it's not much much better either." Kita said as Kodachi watched one of the palace servants show a mother and what appeared to be her thirteen year old daughter into a nearby sitting room.

Kodachi's eyes followed the pair for a moment before turning back to the Corporal. "How many?" She asked.

The older woman shook her head. "We're still taking a head count, and the last group over the river hasn't been brought in yet either. At least a hundred civilians, maybe a hundred twenty at most?" She sighed. "Like I said, that doesn't include the last group. We're doing good for food and blankets since the troops in the castle opened their doors at least."

Kodachi's stomach picked that moment to grumble and she blushed. "Speaking of food." She glanced around.

The Corporal chuckled. "Through the left door." She said, "It's mainly sandwiches and cheese, but that's better than most of these people were expecting this morning."

Kodachi nodded. "It had been a rather rough day, hasn't it?" She said, pausing thoughtfully before continuing, "Lady Bretegani said that was on his way?"

"He had just made the top of the ramp last I heard." The Corporal said, "He's bringing four guards with him. I think the Lieutenant is debating whether or not to let them into the Palace with him."

"Let them in." Kodachi said, "We're trying to win him over, not push him away, and it's not as if you need to worry about them hurting Ranma." The very idea was ridiculous. Ranma would have to be unconscious and tied down before any ordinary person would be able to harm her, or even touch her.

"I'll pass your suggestion on then Miss Kuno." The Corporal said with a small bow.

"Thank you Corporal." Kodachi returned the bow. "Now I think I'll get some food. This way you said?" She looked through the doorway to her left.

"Yes. A good day to you Miss Kuno."

"And to you Corporal." Kodachi headed for what she thought was a sitting room. Behind her she could make out the Corporal talking into her radio. She put it out of her mind as she ducked into the sitting room to find it quite full of people. Couches and other forms of seating had been pushed back to the walls while the tables that took up the center had large platters of sandwiches, salted and smoked meats, and wheels of cheese. Large teapots steamed next to the clean plates and cups at one end of the table.

All the seating in the room had long since been taken, but there was still plenty of food on the table. Kodachi breezed through the crowd with ease, not jostling or shoving a single person as she made her way to the table. She took a plate from the end of the table and joined the queue that was making its way slowly around the tables, snaring smoked meats, sandwiches and a large slice of what she thought was probably cheddar. As she did so she listened to the chatter of those she passed by.

Most people were simply expressing relief at being out of the cold, or having food and warm drinks. Some, though, were discussing other things.

"-we? Those aren't lamps in the wall sconces. They look like crystals, bright glowing crystals." Said a boy about her age as he peered at one of the glowing crystals on the wall.

"Stop poking it. What if you break it?" The girl sitting next to him hissed. The boy flinched as the crystal shifted and hastily sat back down. Kodachi quieted a snicker and moved on.

"So many female soldiers." A woman standing near the line was saying, "I hadn't realize there were so many women in the army."

"It's not just the soldiers though." The woman next to her in a business suit replied, "If I've seen more than a dozen men since we arrived at the Palace I'll be surprised."

"Other than the servants here you mean."

"Yes other than them." Kodachi moved on.

"Whose in charge? They shuffled us into here without saying anything." A pimply boy several years younger than Kodachi whined to a girl of a similar age. "The yard was a mess, and were those bodies out there? Were they dead? I want answers."

"They looked like dead bodies to me." The girl next to him said with a shrug. "They weren't being handled like they were alive anyway. I'm guessing whoever was here didn't like it when people just showed up."

Kodachi spared at glance at the two of them. The boy looked like he was half-way between either a religious revelation or apoplexy with how red he was. "Did- Did they murder the people up here? Oh god don't tell me they killed the rulers and took over. I don't want to deal with crazy soldiers." He hissed to the girl in a quiet enough voice that Kodachi was sure she wasn't supposed to hear. Still she managed, barely. Not that she needed to try too hard to hear the girl's response.

"Don't be an idiot." The girl sighed. "Honestly you and your conspiracy theories Hikaru."

"They aren't conspiracy theories when I'm right!" He replied in just as quiet a voice as before. "Wouldn't be the first time I was right either!"

The look she gave him was flat enough to deflate balloons. "Guessing that Aunt Yasu was telling mom you were sneaking out at night is not something to be proud of, and it doesn't count." She drawled.

"Yes it does Hikari!" He hissed, looking around in a paranoid manner.

Kodachi smiled and turn her attention to the teapot in her hands as she poured a full cup. Sipping it she smiled, jasmine how nice. A moment later she just barely kept from spilling any of it as the thirteen year old girl from earlier bumped into her while walking backwards.

"Oops." The girl said, spinning on the spot. For a moment their eyes met and Kodachi blinked as eyes that were nearly the same shade of sapphire as Ranma looked back at her then the moment was over and the girl disappeared into the crowds around her, leaving only her last word floating in the air. "Sorry."

Kodachi tried to spot the girl, but there were too many people to see passed. The man behind her prodded her with his plate and she blushed. She was holding the line up. Taking her plate and cup of tea with her she quickly searched for a place to at least put down her cup while she ate. Exalted or not she only hand two hands.

She found an open spot on the floor next to a small table and wooden chair that looked a touch out of place with the rest of the decor. The chair was occupied by the woman who had been with the little girl from earlier. She was craning her neck trying to look around without getting up.

"Is this spot free?" Kodachi asked.

The woman jerked in surprise at being addressed. "I- No, I'm saving it for my daughter. If she ever comes back." She said after a moment.

"That would be the same girl who bounced off me at the serving table?" Kodachi asked.

The woman blushed. "She got away from me when I was getting food, and now I'm worried about leaving here and abandoning our spot here." She said, "She's been running about without regard the whole day and I'm nearly at my wits end. She normally gets tired by now."

Kodachi set her cup of tea down and patted the older woman on the shoulder. "She seems to be quite energetic." She said.

"Certainly one way of looking at it." The woman said before sighing. "Listen to me complain. My apologies I shouldn't be venting the issues of motherhood on a girl your age."

Kodachi smiled. "It's completely fine. Today has been horrible for all of us." She said before bowing as best she could, "I'm Kuno Kodachi."

The older woman smiled back. "I am Hinagawa Miyu. I'm sorry my daughter ran into you." She said, bowing deeply from her chair.

The younger woman waved it off. "I said its fine, and I meant it." She took a bite of the sandwich she had taken. The taste was… good, but she couldn't quite place the flavour of the meat. It was like pork but… harsher? She took a second bite, either way whatever it was it was good.

"Mooooooom!" Both of them started as the young girl they had been talking about seemingly materialized out of the crowd without warning. On her heels was the girl, Hikari, who had been talking to her conspiracy theorizing brother. Half a sandwich stuck in her hair made it clear why she was chasing the younger girl.

The younger girl ducked between the two of them and whirled behind the chair, undoubtedly hoping her mother would save her.

Hikari came to a stop, heaving with heavy breaths that Kodachi suspected were caused more by anger than tiredness, in front of them. "Mrs," She asked in a barely calm voice, "Would you mind letting me _strangle your daughter_ for a few minutes? I promise I won't do any _lasting_ damage."

Kodachi stifled a snort of amusement at the blase expression on Miyu's face. This was obviously not the first time her daughter had used her as a shield against the ire of someone she had angered.

"As much as Kiku probably deserves it I'm afraid strangulation falls under 'harm' Miss?" Miyu said blandly. The named girl pouted behind the chair.

"Moooom." She whined.

"Kurosawa Hikari." The other girl said as she carefully removed the piece of bread from her hair along with the lettuce and smoked meat.

"My apologies Miss Kurosawa." Miyu said, "My daughter is more of a free spirit than is probably healthy."

"Mooom." The girl in question groaned from her hiding spot.

"However, perhaps you would appreciate a bit of help cleaning that up… And an apology from my daughter." She shot the last bit to the girl hiding behind the chair.

The pout grew tenfold as the girl deflated. "Yes mom…" She groaned.

Hikari smiled as she continued to pick lettuce from her hair. "Any assistance would be appreciated Mrs….?"

"Hinagawa Miyu. Please sit." Miyu gestured to the floor in front of her. Hikari sagged to the ground in front of the woman gratefully.

Grinning despite herself Kodachi offered, "Perhaps I should go and see if there are any hand towels or napkins you could use."

Miyu shot her a smile. "If you could that would be amazing." She said.

Kodachi drained her cup of tea and grabbed the second half of her sandwich. "Back in a moment." She said before heading off into the crowd. She chuckled quietly to herself. It seemed that there were many forms of chaos people were getting into.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Staedtler examined the lines of parked machines. There were over twenty of them, and all but a small group of vehicles like the one parked next to the Palace Gates were different. Several were large with large box-like rears, and some were small with barely enough room for, maybe, five people. Certainly not five people of his size at least. Many of them bore the same symbol of overlapping ovals, while other bore a strange 'H' symbol in the same places. Makers marks more than likely, though they were foreign to him.

"Intriguing devices aren't they." He said to Ross.

"Not having to house a team of horses for each cart certainly seems to save on space." Ross said as he eyed the row of vehicles before once again fixating on the monster in the corner where a group of soldiers were discussing something.

"Unless they come from the high first age then I image there's some catch to their ability to move." Staedtler replied as he knelt beside one and tapped the strange wheels. "Rubber, as I thought. More durable than wood I imagine." He stood up with a groan. "Ooph, I shouldn't be bending like that these days. I'm not quite as agile as I once was."

His bodyguard snorted. "Agile is not a word I would have ever used to describe you sir."

"Not in your time with me." Staedtler agreed with a chuckle before heading onwards to the Palace gates. Two women in uniform stood one on either side of the gate, a few people passed them without challenge, but as Staedtler approached one of the guards stepped into his way with her hand held up.

"Stop, name and business." She demanded as the other guard shifted her grip on the odd looking flame piece.

Staedtler bowed politely. "I am Staedtler William and I am here to meet with Saotome Ranma at the request of her Divine Grace Setarial." He said politely. The guard off to the side relaxed her grip on the weapon in her arms.

The first one nodded. "The front gate said you were coming. Proceed into the main hall, Corporal Kita will see you up to the meeting room. Your guards are allowed to accompany you if you desire." She said before standing aside.

He had half expected that they would have to stand outside. "Thank you." He said with a tip of his hat before leading the way through the gates to the Palace. As he pushed open the double doors of the entrance hall the noise hit him. People shouting, for more blankets and food or the names of people; the sound of tables and other furniture being moved and sounds he honestly couldn't identify over the utter chaos that had consumed the palace entrance hall.

He stepped into the room and was promptly forced sidestepped a servant carrying far too many blankets. His guards joined him as he scanned the room for Corporal Kita. He didn't have to look for long as the woman found him first. She was short, like many of these people seemed to be, with equally short black hair and a stern look on her face.

"You wouldn't happen to be Staedtler." She said as she emerged ghost-like from the crowd.

He bowed. "That I am. You would be Corporal Kita I presume?" He asked.

"I am." She said before looking around and gesturing for him to follow. "This way, I'll lead you to the meeting room." Without another word she led them across the hall and up the stairs towards the west wing of the Palace. "My apologies about the chaos." She said, "We're just getting people organized and fed after last night."

He waved it off. "No matter to me, I understand perfectly. This disaster was no more your desire than it was ours." He said.

She inclined her head as they made their way down the marble tiled hallway. She stopped outside a nondescript door of a room that he recognized to be one of the many sitting rooms that made up most of this level. "Here we are. I'd advise leaving the guards outside, but the decision is yours." She said to him.

"Not worried about what I might do to her?" He asked curious. In his experience even exalted dynasts insisted on him entering alone to meet them.

The woman snorted, whether in amusement or contempt he couldn't tell. "She destroyed an army last night, what do you think four men will do?" She asked, before leaving without another word.

"She has a point you know." Ross said to him as they watched the Corporal head down the hall. "If she attacks you-"

"They need me too much for that I imagine." Staedtler replied he took off his bowler hat and ran a hand through his hair. "No your job is done for now Ross. Leave a couple men here and go do some poking around downstairs. Meet these people, get to know them. I want to understand what I am dealing with as a whole."

"As you command." Ross said as he and the others bowed.

"Right then, wish me luck." Staedtler replied as he slid open the door to the sitting room and stepped inside.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma turned the blue-steel blade over in her hands as she sat at the small table by the window. She understood the symbolism of handing over a weapon like this, but its nature as a magic blade made her nervous. The blue-steel was like ice both in colour and texture, feeling slippery at the touch and the longer she left it unsheathed the colder the room seemed to get. The hilt was made of a strange silvery metal and rippled with every movement and every touch.

The blade was unnatural, but somehow it didn't feel dangerous. The chill that emanated from the blade lingered in the air, but it was less the chill of the deep north in winter and more the chill one would find on an early spring morning. Cold, but welcoming. It was still strangely heavy though, not that it was an issue for her, but the blade was nearly four times as heavy as it had any right be for the size it was.

She twitched as voices drifted through the door. They were muffled, but she would bet her moment of quiet contemplation, and break from the madness of the last twenty-four hours, was coming to an end. As the voices stopped and the door started sliding open she slid the blade back into its sheath and leaned it against the wall next to her chair. She would deal with it later, preferably when there was someone who had a clue what to do with a magic sword.

She turned to look at the door as it slid shut behind a large man. The man was taller than she was, but his stature had a great deal in common with Genma, being round. That, thankfully, was as far as the comparison could see to go. Where her father was overweight, poorly dressed, and usually in need of a bath regardless of how recently he'd had one; this man was wrapped in heavy robes of what appeared to be fine cotton and silk. His hair was thinning just a little, but he still had enough it could be called full. He held in his hands a fine cane capped in silver and an equally fine bowler hat.

The man bowed. "I am Staedtler William. I have come as asked by Lady Setarial and Lady Leitleen." He said, leaning on the cane and holding the hat to his chest.

"To judge me." She said, turning in her chair to face him.

He rose from his bow and hung his coat and scarf on a the coat rack near the door. "You are unknown." He replied as he walked across the room. He stopped beside the table and looked at her. His eyes focused on her face, her eyes specifically. "More importantly you are anathema. I am not a pious man, not Immaculate Pious at least, however even I have learned to heed their warnings in the area of the supernatural." He pulled out the chair opposite her and heaved himself into it with a sigh. "However I have also learned to trust Lady Leitleen and Lady Setarial. So here I am, doing yet another thing the Immaculates warn against."

"Talking to a seventeen year old girl?" Ranma quipped.

He chuckled. "The Immaculates have other things to be said about that." He said, "However what they say about what you are, either as an Anathema or as a girl, are entirely immaterial to this discussion." He leaned his cane against the wall next to his chair and sighed. "I am here to decide whether you are in the best interest of Greyfalls. You have Lady Setarial's Blessing, or a promise of it at least. That is in your favour, but I have learned through experience that the minds of men and gods do so rarely align."

Ranma sighed. "Most people's minds don't line up." She said from experience, "Men and Gods? Miracles only go so far." The number of times she had been caught up in some madness over misunderstanding was more than she cared to count.

The large man smiled. "One way of looking at it I suppose." He said before looking down at the table, set as it was with cutlery and wine glasses. "However I was also promised a good meal to go along with today's discussion."

Ranma look to the door. "Lady Bretegani said she would send someone by soon." She said.

"I must say I'm surprised that the servants are cooperating with this." He said, cradling an empty wine glass in one hand. "Lord Bretegani is not one to cast aside his loyalty to the Empress. If anything I would have expected them to have left when the evacuation was called."

Ranma shrugged. "He was injured when a few soldiers decided to loot the place. When we got here he'd already been knocked out." She said before she frowned. "I don't think he's expected to wake up."

"I see." Staedtler replied, "He was a good man, but perhaps a tad oblivious." At Ranma's curious look he elaborated, "He fancied himself a Dynast like his daughter who exalted and was adopted into one of the Great Houses back on the Isle. I don't know which one. His, ehem, 'reward' was to be sent here. As far from the isle as was possible. He often hosted parties involving many of the Merchants and Landowners in Greyfalls. His mistake. They served as places where the like minded could meet and talk without being under suspicion. It was there that the conspiracy started."

"Here? In this Palace?" Ranma asked.

"Yes." He smiled, "Right beneath their noses. It's entirely possible that this very room hosted discussions of treason and sedition. Though we have no way to be certain. When I joined the discussions they had already been building quiet support for several years and had expanded beyond just meeting at those balls, though they did continue to use it to recruit."

Well that was interesting, and another reason for her to hate big parties. There was a knock on the door, forestalling her reply, before the door slid open to admit a young man. He bowed low to them both. "Our apologies for the delay Your Highness, Sir Staedtler. I'm afraid things have gotten quite hectic all of a sudden." He said while practically staring at the floor.

Ranma sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "Stand up." She said after a moment, her voice matching the exasperation she was feeling. People bowing to her just felt weird.

The young man, though he appeared to be a few years older than her, straightened. "Again, our apologies Lady Castellan." He said. Out of the corner of Ranma's eye she caught the speculative look that Staedtler was giving her. "I am here to take your requests." The servant bowed slightly once again.

"Perhaps you could offer us some options?" Staedtler prompted.

The young man flushed. "Yes, of course Sir Staedtler." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a pad of paper. "With the state of the city we are lacking in the way of fresh meats, however we do have a large smoked ham and a variety of smoked meats. Freshly cooked bread, and a variety of vegetables that could be used in sandwiches or salads as you wish. There are three soups currently available. A broccoli and cheese, a tomato and basil, and a chowder made with fish that was brought in just before calibration. A few days old but well preserved I'm told."

Staedtler looked to Ranma. "What would the… ah Lady Castellan desire?" He asked, before chuckling quietly at the twitch she failed to suppress.

She shot him an irritable look that seemed to amuse him before looking back to the nervous servant. Well, there was only one answer for that. "Thr- No, Four Sandwiches. Don't care what you put in them, surprise me. Also a large bowl of.. Hmm…" They both stared at her as she considered the soups. "Chowder sounds good. Also one of those cheese platter and some tea, don't care which."

The Servant blinked dumbly for a couple seconds before shaking himself. "O-of course Milady." He turned to Staedtler. "What would you desire sir?" He asked.

"Two sandwiches, with that ham and whatever cheese you might have at the moment." He said, "Lettuce is acceptable. Also an average sized bowl of your tomato soup if you don't mind. Tea would also be acceptable."

"It will be here shortly Milady, milord." The young man bowed. "With your leave?" Ranma waved him off and fixed an amused look on Staedtler who was shaking his head.

"Do you truly intend to eat five sandwiches and a bowl of chowder?" He asked.

She shrugged, it wasn't that much compared to how much she'd eaten at other times. "I haven't eaten more than snacks since we arrived. I need proper food." She said with a shrug.

"A fair point I suppose." He acknowledged before frowning and looking at her. "Would I be wrong to guess that you grew up without the expectation of nobility or at least without servants and titles?" He asked.

Ranma sighed. "Yes. My pops raised me to be a martial artist." She said carefully. "We spent most of my life on the road traveling and learning. Until a couple years ago anyway when we moved in with an old friend of his."

"I see." The merchant nodded before changing the subject. "Castellan. Normally it refers the caretaker of a castle or fort. From what Lady Leitleen said you were being put forward as a candidate for Queen of Greyfalls. Has that changed in the last couple of hours?"

Ranma sighed. "Not really, no." She said, "I've had run ins with royalty before this. They always acted like arrogant bastards. The idea of sharing a title, even a word of a title, with them is…" She searched for a word, "Sickening." She finished. It wasn't the whole truth, obviously, but at the moment she'd prefer as few people as possible knew about her curse. She didn't need people thinking she was crazy on top of everything else, besides the thought _was_ gut churning.

"Also," she continued, "I'm only doing something like this because Setarial asked me to."

"Why?" He asked, "While I understand the weight of a request by a Goddess, you have demonstrated the sort of power required to refuse?"

Ranma twirled the butterknife between the fingers of her right hand. "I could." She agreed as she spun the blade. "I really want to as well. I ain't a ruler. I don't want to be one, but I'm also partly responsible for the mess that the city is in. So when she asked I agreed."

"There are many ways to help the city." His eyes tracked the complex pattern the butterknife was spinning between her fingers. "It didn't have to be like this."

The butterknife came to a stop. "Didn't it?" She said as she set the knife down. "I could have gone out there and dealt with the army myself I guess, or at least dealt with the General in charge. I could have run off, or helped put things back together…" Her fingers tapped irritably on the table. "But, and here's the point Setarial made, who's in command of the city? Of the Nation?" She asked.

The Merchant remained gravely silent. "Even your little conspiracy doesn't actually have a proper leader. Its got leaders, Sung and Bengtsson for example, but do any of them agree on who's supposed to be King when it's all done?" She prodded.

"No it doesn't." He answered, "We never could agree. If nothing else Her Grace Setarial's actions have at least bought a day of tense peace. Even Bengtsson won't dare break the peace she has asked for. Not immediately anyway. Is that why you accepted, to try and head off a civil war? It would have happened anyway without your intervention."

The butterknife started spinning once again. "Its part of it. We kicked this whole mess off without meaning to, but we're still responsible for what happens. Still I'd have kept arguing except for one thing." The butterknife stopped spinning. "When a Goddess gets down on her knees and pleads for you to do something at the cost of her dignity and pride." She trailed off.

The merchant leaned back into his chair with a thoughtful look. Silence settled between them for a few minutes before the door once again slid open to admit a cart covered in plates and a teapot, pushed by the same young servant as before.

"Your meal." He said with a bow before beginning to unload the plates of sandwiches and bowls of soup. As he set the cheese platter down next to Ranma she raised an eyebrow.

"Can I get a second plate of this?" She asked him.

He stared at her before nodding once. "Yes, of course. I'll bring it up as soon as possible." He said.

"Thanks." Ranma said before taking a bite of one of the sandwich halves

As the tea was poured for both of them Staedtler tasted the soup. "Excellent as usual." He told the servant who nodded gratefully.

"I'll let the chef know." He said before retreating out of the room with the cart.

Ranma took spoonful of the chowder. It was good, though not as good as what Kasumi had cooked on occasion.

"You've given me quite a bit to think on already." Staedtler said after a few minutes of quiet eating. "But I do have a few questions, if you don't mind answering them that is."

Ranma swallowed the last of her first sandwich. She smiled, "Ask away." It was why they were meeting after all.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"We've just had Motou and Kawashima's groups arrive. I'm putting together the team to come and get you Sergeant Mori." Ryu said into the radio of the LAV.

" _Understood. We've commandeered the wharf at this end and we're waiting for someone to come get us._ " The Soldier's voice crackled with the distance, but it was still clearer than it had been a couple hours earlier.

"They'll be there soon. Kumon out." Ryu hung the microphone on in its cradle and sighed. "One thing after another." He complained to Akiyama. The Sergeant Major chuckled.

"It always is. I'll lead the group down if you want." He offered.

Ryu shook his head. "No, no. Get Corporal Kawashima to do it. Ten man team including her. I want you around if Ito starts acting up."

"Yes sir." The older man said.

"Get that done then get back here. We still have other things we need to do." The Lieutenant said. Akiyama saluted and left. Ryu leaned back in the passenger seat of the LAV with a sigh as he enjoyed the moment of quiet. Even with the keep 'friendly' and the Vartabed had been abandoned by the monks, nuns and acolytes who had stripped all of its holy relics and most of the decor at the same time. More than likely they had headed for the Realm with the rest of the Dynasts. Hopefully they had, the last thing they needed was another issue to handle. He rolled the window up and as he sat there the last twenty-four hours began to catch up with him as his eyes started to close.

A few minutes later a knock on the window brought Ryu out of the doze he had fallen into. He rolled the window back down and stifled a yawn as he turned to look at his second. "Well?" He asked through a yawn.

"Kawashima is taking a ten man team down to Canal Gate with a few of the trucks." Akiyama said, studiously ignoring how his commanding officer was shaking himself awake.

"Good, what's next?" Ryu asked as he slapped his face in an effort to wake himself up.

"Kita needs to talk to you about accommodations for everyone. Apparently there aren't enough rooms in the Palace to just use it, and she's concerned about using the Barracks. Not sanitary I think she called it." The Sergeant Major snorted in amusement. "Can't say I disagree."

Ryu opened the car and stepped out stretching. "That bad?" He asked.

"The keep looks practically modern in comparison." The older man replied.

The Lieutenant ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Always something else."

"Yes sir. Always something."

-0-0-0-0-0-

The Honda Type 73 truck bounced as it came to a stop on the cobbled stone that made up the quayside of Canal Gate. Kawashima turned it off and threw open the door, dropping to the ground. On the other side of the vehicle Private Watanabe Yori opened the passenger door far more gently and dropped to the stone.

"Warehouses are pretty close to the water." The Private said as she rounded the side of the vehicle. Yori was looking about nervously, her eyes twitching from one building to another.

"Yeah, keep an eye on them." Corporal Kawashima said as she walked over to the wooden piers that stretched out into the bay. They were, for the most part, empty. All except for a handful of smaller fishing boats and a dozen identical wide and flat bottomed barges with small shacks set up to keep the rain off their passengers. Those were probably their ferries.

"Everyone, gather round." She shouted waving the drivers and passengers of the other three trucks over. Once her squad had assembled she gestured to the barges. "Koneko, Goto, you said that you've gone boating before. Think you can operate those things?" She asked.

The two women exchanged a look and laughed. "Their riverboats ma'am." Koneko said, "Nothing to them but poles, oars and a rudder. We'll need a couple of extra hands to help with everything, but we expected that.

"Good. Private Watanabe and I will go with you." Their commander said.

"What?" The slight and nervous girl said before clamming up nervously again.

Ignoring the interruption the Corporal continued, "Private Harada, you're in charge until we get back."

"Ma'am." The taller woman saluted.

"Alright, let's get this done. I don't want to be out here longer than we need to be. Feels like we're being watched." She scanned the rooftops of the nearby warehouses and nearly dismissed the feeling before a glint atop the walls above the warehouses caught her eye. She didn't even spare it more than the briefest of glances. "Correction. We are being watched. Move it ladies." She snapped, leading the way to the boats.

Stepping off the pier onto the barges the boats barely rocked as she walked across them to the furthest down the line of boats tied together. Koneko and Goto set about finding the oars and poles while Yori carefully made her way across the other barges, flinching at every unexpected sway.

Watching the younger woman make her way, slowly, to the boat the corporal had to wonder if she had made the right choice bringing the nervous young woman. "Hurry up Watanabe. We're being watched and I'd to get this done before they get bold." She called.

"Y-Yes ma'am." The young woman squeaked as she doubled her speed. It was still slower than any of them, but at least she had sped up. "We're being watched, one man on the wall."

"I know-" Kawashima started.

"Two more in the warehouse three to the left, second floor." The Private continued, seemingly to herself as she traversed the last couple barges. "Another is watching from the last street corner in the three story house, and I think there might be one more towards the next district towards the falls." Her feet touched down on the barge and she gave her commander a sheepish grin. "I'm probably wrong though."

Scanning the sights as unobtrusively as possible Kawashima managed to catch sight of the ones in the warehouse, but she couldn't see anymore. Still the fact she'd missed two meant the nervous young woman was probably right about the rest. "No you're not." She said patting the Private on the shoulder before going for her radio. "Kawashima to team. Watanabe just spotted another two in the third left warehouse. Fifth for you lot. Another guy in the house at the corner, third floor, and there might be a guy just up the street towards Nooji Plaza."

" _Understood. We'll keep an eye on them_." Harada replied.

"Koneko, Goto, you ready?" She asked the only two of them who knew how to sail a boat.

Goto untied a couple ropes while Koneko held out an oar in response. "Goto's just undoing the last few ropes. Once she's done there we'll push off then row out. Doesn't look like they have long poles for this sort of thing, so try not to fall in. River's probably quite deep and cold at the moment as well." Koneko said.

Kawashima took the spare oar and nodded. "Wasn't planning on swimming to the other side." She said before she grabbed another and shoved it into Yori's arms. "Good eye." She said as she stepped passed.

The young woman blinked then smiled shakily. "Thank you ma'am." She said as she threw her rifle over her shoulder and took up position next to the corporal.

Goto walked up to the tiller and spent a couple moment familiarizing herself with it before calling, "Push us off!"

Koneko nodded. "Alright, everyone push in three, two, one." The three of them gently shoved off from the other barge and they drifted into open water.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma sipped her tea, her tenth cup in the last three hours, as she watched Staedtler snack on his own platter of cheese. Their conversation had lasted far longer than she had expected, but she couldn't say it had felt wasted. Staedtler had proven to be a surprisingly interesting person with more than a few stories of his own, collected as they were over his long and storied career as a merchant. In fact he was probably the nicest fat, rich merchant she had ever met… Not that she had met many fat, rich merchants before. Still it was easy to see why the man's word carried as much weight as Leitleen had claimed.

"A good meal, and a long one." The man said as he carefully stacked the empty platter with the rest for when the servant returned to take them away. Again.

"Longer than I was expecting." Ranma replied.

He chuckled. "You don't learn all there is to know about a person in an hour, or even a day. Of course that doesn't mean you can't get a grasp on a person's motivations. Still though, even after the last several hours I have one more question I must ask."

"Another question?" Ranma sighed.

He smiled wanly. "The last, and perhaps the most important. You see, we've spoken of your past and mine. Discussed a little of the place you call home, and even of the history of this fine city." He shifted in his seat to lean forward, placing his elbows on table as he did. "But through all of this you haven't said a thing about what it is you intend for the city."

She blinked. "I intend to save it." She said, "From that Dawn Caste, and from the civil war everyone keeps talking ab-"

"Not what I mean." Staedtler said, raising a hand to halt her. "What I mean is after that is done. What comes after you convince the city to back you, stop the Vanehan army, and have secured peace? What do you intend for the city?"

The look she gave him was nonplussed. "I-" She paused, what did she actually want? Once she did all of that she'd have saved the city, but this duty she agreed to wasn't just going to go away once the army was gone and the crowd of rabid revolutionaries appeased. It wasn't like she could just hand it off to someone else and go home either.

"You don't know, do you?" He mused.

After a few more silent moment she shook her head. "Not a clue." She admitted, "Like I said this wasn't something I wanted. I've never thought about it."

He nodded. "Then perhaps you should. This war is just the start of your reign Castellan." Her eyes widened as he used her new title. "You will have sometime before you must decide on a course for the City, and the nation, but the sooner you start thinking about it the more prepared you will be when that time comes."

She set her teacup down and fixed him with an assessing look. "You've decided." She stated.

"I have." He said.

"And?"

"You are rough, inexperienced, and blunt." He said honestly, and just a bit bluntly himself, "But I can see where Setarial is coming from. You have potential, and I believe given time you could become what this city needs in the long term. In the short you are, to be frank, the only available option." She wilted slightly at that.

"However," he continued, "compared to the others who desire the post that you have stumbled into you see more clearly than they have for years. You are inexperienced in matters of state, but inexperience can be rectified. Blind greed and ambition…" He shook his head before he clasped his hands and bowed as best he could in the chair. "You have my support Castellan Saotome Ranma of Japan for so long as you seek the safety of this city."

She smiled. "Thank you." She said honestly before frowning. "And stop bowing."

He chuckled as he obeyed. "That is something I'm afraid you will have to get used to." He said.

"Indeed she will." Both of them jumped as Setarial appeared without warning next to them. She blinked as Ranma slowly lowered the blue blade from where it had, for a moment, been pointed in her face and sheathed it.

"Don't do that." Ranma said as the blade clicked back into its sheath.

"My apologies Lady Setarial, however scares like that are not good for the health." Staedtler said, resting a hand on his chest as his breathing slowed.

She bowed, a slight mischievous smirk on her lips. "My apologies." She said insincerely, her lips twitching.

"Sure you are." Ranma said, standing from her chair. Despite sitting for hours not a single joint popped or felt strained, unlike the older man Staedtler. Cracks and pops were audible as the large man stood.

"I do not believe she is." The merchant agreed as he stretched before retrieving his cane.

Setarial pouted for a moment before smiling. "I am here to inform the both of you that the afternoon meeting has been moved." She said.

"To?" Ranma asked, though she suspected that Setarial was the one who 'moved' it.

"The Ballroom, down the hall passed the dining room." She replied.

"At what time?" Ranma asked.

"The time did not change, however you do only have five minutes before it is supposed to start." The Goddess replied.

Ranma blinked, well that was what happened when you didn't have a clock in every room, or bothered to carry one. "Well, lead the way." She gestured to the door.

Setarial bowed. "As you wish, Castellan." She said, her lips twitching, as she led them out of the sitting room.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The ballroom, as Ranma discovered the moment she opened the door heavily decorated oak doors, was a room with vaulted ceilings that stretched at from the first floor to what she thought was the third. To even reach the floor of the room from the entrance required her to descend a staircase to the first level. Large marble pillars were spaced evenly along the walls and in two rows that ran on either side of the stairs across the room to a large dias with an ornate throne and banners hung between them from the ceiling displaying crests that were strangely reminiscent of those used by old Japanese noble houses. The floor was made of the same marble that decorated the hallways, with a large multi-colour mosaic of five intertwined dragons that ran from the entrance to the throne between the middle columns of the room.

Ranma walked down the first few stairs as she took in the empty room. After a few seconds she turned to Setarial. "This is also a throne room." She said.

The Goddess nodded and smiled. "It is." She said, walking down the stairs to join her.

"A bit empty isn't it?" Ranma asked as she looked at the banners. "And whose are those?"

"Those banners belong to the Realm's Eleven Great Houses." Staedtler said as he made his way down the stairs far more easily than she would have expected. His four guards stayed at the top step. "Each one is an unbroken line descended from the Scarlet Empress and whichever lover she took at the time." He gestured to a crest with a dot inside a circle. "The Mon of House Nellens, the house from which our former Satrap originated."

Ranma studied the varied Mons for a moment before turning her attention back to the rest of the room, there would be time later to ask about them. "Still rather empty though.

"They normally fill the room with tables and erect a smalls stage when a party is to occur." The merchant replied. As they were talking Setarial ghosted down the stairs and across the room to the throne.

Ranma ignored her as she walked over to one of the marble columns and rapped her hand against it. It felt and sounded like solid stone. "It's a big room." She said, "You could fit about… a thousand people in here I guess?" She looked to Staedtler who looked around thoughtfully.

"Standing room only I imagine for such numbers. Perhaps a third of that comfortably." He replied.

She nodded and made to step between the pillars. "Stay there Ranma." Setarial called from where she was examining one of the arms of the throne.

"Why?" Ranma asked as she took a careful step back.

"Look at the tiles." Setarial said as she fiddled with something.

Ranma raised an eyebrow and looked down. The area between the pillars in the center of the room, where the mosaic was located, were mostly large square blocks a meter to a side except where the dragon mosaic overlapped. Those passed the pillars though were much smaller being perhaps half a foot on one side and two on the other.

"What am I supposed to see?" She asked.

The Goddess looked up from the throne. "This." She said before poking something on the throne's arm. The room shook and dust fell from the ceiling before the floor passed the pillars lurched and surged upwards in a spray of dust. In moments it was over and Ranma stared as two thirds of the room had become risers made of perfectly shaped marble seats, though there was a small amount of dust in the air.

"My apologies for the dust." Setarial said as she walked over to Ranma, "I don't believe they ever made use of this after the Manse was finished."

Ranma stared for a long few seconds. "Every time I think know what to expect." She eventually whined. "How?" She asked the giggling goddess.

"This Palace is a Manse worthy of housing the Scarlet Empress. Its every feature is designed to provide for the comfort of its occupants." Setarial said, "From regulating the temperature of the rooms, to features such as allowing a ballroom to double as a proper throne room. There are other features, though I would be lying if I said I knew them all by heart. I do know that they diverted power from the creation of a Hearthstone to allow for greater comforts."

Interesting, but there was one question. "What is a Manse?" Ranma asked as she walked towards the Throne.

"A Manse is a structure built upon a Demesne." Her annoyance must have been clear as Setarial continued quickly. "A Demesne is a place of power, where dragon lines intersect and their power spills out into the world. Plants, animals, and people who live in such areas can find themselves changed to suit the nature of the energies the spill forth. An air-aspected Demesne could be unseasonably cold year round and cause those that spend too much time within it to develop blue skin, or grow winds, or a million million other strange effects."

They stopped at the base of the dias and Ranma listened to the Goddess. "A Manse is used to tame these wild energies and allow them to be harnessed for whatever the Manse's creator desires. Normally this includes the creation of a Hearthstone, a rock or gem created in the heart of the Manse from the crystallization of the Manse's power. These grant powers to those who possess them, or can be inserted into properly prepared artifacts to allow them to draw upon the power of the manse to operate."

"But this place didn't do that?" Ranma asked.

"No." Setarial replied, "The Demesne here was only moderately strong and they decided they needed the extra power to allow it to live up to the standards expected of a home of the Scarlet Empress."

"Not that it was ever used as such." Staedtler said.

"Our benefit, their loss." Setarial said simply before turning to the throne. "These risers are controlled from the throne. Press the dragon's eyes in the left arm and hold for at least five seconds. That will either summon them or return the room to normal."

Ranma stepped up to the throne and ran a hand across the arm of the chair. The throne was carved of wood and continued the theme of the rest of the building, and more importantly of the room's floor mosaic. Five eastern dragons white, blue, red, green and black intertwined to form the back and arms of the chair. The heads of the white and black dragons formed the arms while the blue, green and red hunched over the whomever sat upon the throne. Even the cushions carried the theme with patterns of interwoven dragons edged in fine golden threads of a material that felt silk but felt oddly warm to the touch.

"Please, sit. It is yours now." Setarial said, bowing to the throne.

Hesitantly, and keeping a close eye on the dragon heads in case they sprang to life, Ranma sat down on the throne. The Dragon's hung just far enough over that, despite being significantly shorter than the Scarlet Empress, they were in her view of the room. She leaned back as best she could in the throne and sighed. It was probably the most comfortable chair she had ever sat on.

"Comfy." She said as she looked up at Setarial who had taken a spot on her right hand.

"It was intended for the Scarlet Empress. If it was anything but I imagine there would be problems." The goddess replied.

The main doors to the hall opened and admitted Kodachi and Ryouga who was saying something that died in his throat as he looked around. His eyes from her and she waved cheekily. He sighed and shook his head before leading the way across the hall.

"Sitting down already." He called, "I spent all day helping people set broken legs and arms, and here you are sitting down." Despite the words his voice was absent its usual condemnation.

The redhead chuckled and hopped out of the chair to meet them. "And I've been stuck dealing with politics." Ranma replied, "You don't see me complaining." She raised an eyebrow as they two of them got closer. "And since when were you Doc Tofu?" She asked.

"That bunch of guys in the keep ran out of pain medication to deal with what we did last night." He shrugged. "I picked up a few pressure points for that kinda thing a while back so I pitched in."

"Am I to assume your meeting went well?" Kodachi asked as she looked passed to Staedtler.

Ranma looked back at the older man standing on the steps of the dias. "He's on board with this whole plan. For now anyway." She said.

Kodachi smiled and walked over to Staedtler. "Hello." She said with a bow, "I'm Kuno Kodachi, it's good to meet someone here who wants to help."

He chuckled and returned the bow. "Staedtler William, at your service Miss Kuno." He said, "It is nice to meet a polite young lady for once."

"Are you saying I'm not polite?" Ranma squawked theatrically.

"I refer you to our past conversations your grace." He replied with a smiled.

She shook her head and turned back to Ryouga. "How did things go with the keep?" She asked.

Her rival ran a hand through his hair. "Better than we feared, but now we've got about a thousand wounded soldiers to deal with." He said.

She winced. That would be a major hit to whatever stores of medicine the city had. "I see." She said before sighing. "Better than having to fight them."

He snorted. "Better for them. Would have taken me five minutes to run through them." He remarked.

Ranma chuckled. "What else did you think I meant?" She asked. The thunk of military boots on marble cut off further conversation as Ryu entered the room. In his wake came a much larger group of people than she remembered being at the last meeting. Most wore the uniform of the JGSDF, but a good few wore the uniforms of the Realm's Legionnaires, steel plate, leather, and cloth.

"I see your meeting wasn't a disaster." Ryu said as he descended the stairs. He patted Ryouga on the shoulder as he joined them. "Excellent work with the keep by the way. Sergeant Taylor and his second have joined us thanks to your work."

Ranma watched Ryouga puff up with pride and stifled another chuckle. Ryouga's pride was easily puffed up, and just as easily hurt, but it was a good way to get him on your side if you knew what to say.

"A lot more of your people." Ranma said looking around.

Ryu nodded, his expression becoming more grim. "We got everyone picked up, but we noticed things while we were getting them. There's movement in the lower portions of the city. Someone is trying to stir things up." He said.

"We knew that was going to happen." Kodachi said as she walked back over. "Still, we'd hoped that we had more time."

"I suspect there would already be violence in the streets if Setarial hadn't extended her invitations." Staedtler added, nodding to Ryu. "More than likely Bengtsson is trying to whip up some form of resistance to anyone other than him being 'King'." The thought seemed physically disgusting to the normally good natured man.

"You are the expert." Ryu said, "I'll hold off on saying any more until the meeting starts. No need to repeat myself."

Ranma sighed. "We're just waiting on the Magistrates now." She said, "Lets all get ready, I want to start when they get here."

The others nodded and the small gathering broke up as Ryu headed back to his troops and Ranma, Kodach, and Ryouga headed to the throne. As Ranma sat down Kodachi slipped in next to Setarial, who smiled at the Zenith, while Ryouga looked around with an eyebrow raised.

Ranma noticed. "What is it?" She asked, exasperatedly.

"No chairs for the rest of us?" He asked.

"I'll arrange for some to be added for yourself and Lady Kodachi before the next time Her Grace holds court." Setarial said apologetically.

Ranma's eyebrow twitched at the form of address, but she held her tongue. As they kept telling her, she would need to just bare it and deal. Well they'd actually said she would need to get used to it, but that implied a degree of acceptance she just was not willing to think about.

Ryouga nodded and shrugged. "I'll deal." He said.

Down on the main floor Ryouga and Akiyama had organized their troops into a clean line on the same side as Ryouga, with the two of them at the foot of the Dias. Meanwhile the Realm soldiers had approached Staedtler and were speaking with him quietly. Judging by the smiles going around she doubted she had anything to worry about.

Things fell into small talk for a few minutes until Lily arrived, helping along Zeriah as he limped down the stairs. He was doing surprisingly well considering she remembered breaking a support pillar with his back. As they reached the bottom of the stairs Leitleen appeared settling on the central red dragon of the throne with a whispered, "Your Grace."

The two Magistrates straightened and marched up to the Dias. "We are here as we promised." Lily said as the two gave a perfunctory bow, not that she expected more from them.

"That makes everyone then." Setarial noted as she looked to Ranma.

"It does." Ranma agreed, standing from her chair and stepping forward. This was her job now. "Alright. Let's get this dealt with, we've only got so much time before the event later, so let's start this off. Ryu, how did things go? What are we dealing with?"

The young Lieutenant straightened and stepped forward. "We spoke with the men in the Keep. They served under a Sergeant Taylor, who is here." He gestured to the blond man who bowed as Ranma glanced at him. "In exchange for medical assistance he opened the Keep. The news is… mixed. We checked the treasury, food stores, and arsenal. As we expected the Arsenal is missing a good portion its stock. There are swords aplenty, but arrows, spears, and other weapons are nearly non-existent. We'll need the stockpiles in Mist-Town if we want to have a proper militia. Food stores are good, and most of the treasury was untouched. Lockler how much did you say was there?"

"At least five hundred Jade talents worth of tax revenue. Mixed Jade and Silver." The Sergeant said, "They probably managed to make off with ten talents at most."

"A solid fund to start with." Setarial said as she noticed Ranma's confused look. What was a Talent exactly? She's ask later.

Ryu continued, "Thank you Sergeant. We left Ryouga to handle the wounded and I led a team to sweep the Vartabed. The Monastery is empty, not a monk, nun, or acolyte to be found in its halls. They stripped everything before leaving as well. I don't think we saw even so much as a wall hanging in there." He sighed. "Other than that we focused on gathering our people. I've brought with me all of my non-commissioned officers. Allow me to introduce them. Let's start with the one you know. Sergeant-Major Akiyama Daichi."

The older man stepped forward and bowed before stepping back in line. "After him is Staff Sergeant Ito Itsuki." The man in question stepped forward and gave the most abbreviated bow Ranma had ever seen.

Ryu stopped for a second as the man stepped back and seemed to twitch for a moment before continuing on. "Sergeant Maki Jirou. Sergeant Mori Katsu. Sergeant Matou Kenji." The three men stepped forward and bowed as their names were said. Somehow Ranma suspected that she was going to get their names mixed up quite often.

"After them we have our small number of corporals. Starting with Corporals Saito Yui, and Kita Honoka." The two stepped forward and bowed. "They've been in charge of security today. Meanwhile Corporal Kawashima Suki lead the groups that opened the gates and manned the ferries today." The woman bowed precisely before stepping back. "Finally we have Corporal Tatsu Haru. He's been helping with the medical issues and taking a census of who's here. Corporal if you would."

The young man with mousy hair stepped forward and bowed. Rising he cleared his throat. "On final count we have, at present, two hundred and sixty-seven people from Japan in the city to our knowledge. We expect to find at least a few more as time goes on. Of them eighty-eight are JSDF, most are from the JGSDF. We do have three pilots and a helmsman amongst the others."

"Thank you Corporal." Ryu said as he stepped forward. The young man bowed once more and stepped back. "On a related note I've been asking around, and we've noticed a strange occurrence amongst everyone from Japan."

"What would that be?" Ranma asked, leaning forward.

The Lieutenant fixed Setarial with a look. "Every last one of them reported that they were surrounded in a short lived aura of elemental power on arrival, one that surges in time with their actions and that they feel a strange unsettled energy beneath their skin. Some have described it as being 'like lightning' or 'a wildfire trying to escape'." He said.

The Goddess exchanged a look with Leitleen before stepping forward. "Everyone of them?" She asked.

"Everyone." Ryu confirmed, "SDF and Civilian."

"I-I see." She looked confused as she considered it. "This aura, could you try and summon it?" She asked.

He stepped into the center of the room, prompting the Realm soldiers to take several large steps back. Ignoring them he closed his eyes and moments later a soft brown glow erupted from him. Motes of dust lifted from the ground and began to clump together around him. He opened his eyes and waited.

Ranma for her part stared. She had seen that aura around enough people in the last twenty-four hours to recognize it at a glance. "That's-" She started at the same time as Lily.

"It is." Setarial agreed, interrupting both of them. She sighed. "It looks like you weren't mistaken Leitleen." She said apologetically.

The Raven bowed. "I report what I see milady." She said simply.

"And I should know to take it at face value, even if it should be impossible." Setarial said. "What I would like to know is how it is possible that even one of you, let alone all of you, are somehow recipients of Terrestrial Exaltations."

"Terrestrial Exaltation is in the blood. This should not be possible. Certainly not at the age they are at." Lily said as she gestured to Ito and Akiyama.

"I agree." Setarial said, "However we should remember what it is we are dealing with. For Exaltations and those they bless there are few things truly impossible. Also we are still in the dark as to the exact nature of the situation we have found ourselves in. Unless someone has new information about what occurred?" She looked around but everyone shook their heads negatively. "Very well. Yes you have a Terrestrial Exaltation Lieutenant. As do your men and those under your care."

"This is a good thing isn't it?" Kodachi asked, getting their attention.

"It should be." Setarial said, "Even a young and untrained terrestrial is more than a match for even a dozen regular soldiers. To have so many with military training and the weapons you brought, our chances of victory have gone up substantially."

Ranma sighed. "This is getting more confusing, not less." She said as she looked them over.

"Of course it is." Ryu said, "Why wouldn't it?"

She chuckled. "We're not the type to be that lucky are we?"

Next to her Ryouga chuckled as well. "Still better luck than we've had in awhile." He said, "I say we don't worry about it for now. Whatever the reason we've got other things to worry about."

"Right." Ranma said, "Let's move on then. Ryu, anything else?"

"We're having issues finding sleeping quarters for everyone." Ryu said.

"Use the Vartabed." Zeriah said, getting looks of surprise from Lily and most of the Realm soldiers.

"Would that be alright?" Ranma asked carefully. He was suggesting taking over a Monastery as a barracks. A monastery of his, supposed, religion no less.

"Out of the three buildings besides the Palace it will be in the best condition and have the most room." The Magistrate replied.

Ranma sighed and nodded. "Sweep it a couple times to be sure you didn't miss anyone then get them moved in Ryu." She said.

"We will. Also, while my men were out in the city we noticed groups of people moving in the Nooji Plaza and Mist-town area along with segments of Canal Gate and High Quarter." He said.

"Bengtsson and Sung most likely." Staedtler sighed as he stepped forward. He bowed to Ranma. "Bengtsson has made it clear he desires the crown of his own. Sung won't let him take it without protest either. If they're moving, despite the ceasefire Setarial called, then tonight could get very exciting."

"They are moving." Leitleen confirmed. "Bengtsson and Sung both plan on attending the ball, but they have family and retainers handling the rallying of troops. Sung was going to honour the ceasefire, but when he got word Bengtsson was still rallying his men and had been planning on raiding his home… Well he started rallying his own supporters."

"So tonight is what? Pointless?" Ranma asked. This was exactly what they had been trying to avoid.

"I would hope not." Lily said, "I've spent the entire day working with Setarial's servants to prepare the temple. I expect the last few details to be ready by the time we arrive."

"Tonight is not about them." Staedtler said, rapping his cane sharply against the marble. "They are but two of dozens who will be attending. Convince them to support you and you will have the favour of the people throughout Greyfalls. The City and the nation."

"There's still be two mobs of people to deal with, and they want each other dead." Ryu reminded.

"Suggestions?" Ranma asked as she turned the problem over in her head.

"I do not think Bengtsson believes he will get Setarial's Blessing." Staedtler said, "That is why he is readying his men. Sung readies his men as well to prevent him from simply seizing power. If we can get Sung to commit to us before the announcement we may be able to ensure that any fallout from a battle falls squarely on Bengtsson. Going against Setarial's decision and attempting an assassination of his rivals on holy ground? With Sung by our side he won't be able to paint us as the instigators."

"By that logic we need to keep Sung alive at all costs." Ranma noted, looking to Ryu.

The Lieutenant nodded. "I think I can put together a team to make sure he gets to the ball. Once he's there if you, Staedtler and Setarial can speak with him…"

"Assuming he's willing to see reason." The Merchant said, "He might not have liked the Realm, but he has little reason to trust an Anathema. You'll need to make some form of good faith gesture."

"Such as?" Ranma prodded, though she suspected she knew what was going to be suggested.

"A noble title would be appreciated I imagine." Setarial said, "That is the primary desire for most of them. The formation of a hereditary nobility."

"Oh yes, because such things never go wrong." Ryouga drawled sarcastically.

Well he wasn't wrong. There was no guarantee that the next generation of a noble family was going to be either competent or sane. The Kunos were a good example of that. Ranma shot Kodachi a look that she caught and blushed brilliantly in response. "I'll consider it." Ranma said, "Other ideas?"

"Cabinet position perhaps?" Kodachi suggested, "We're going to need to put together a government to run things, and quickly before taxes and road maintenance start piling up."

"Make him a Minister or Governor of his District?" Ryu suggested, "Duration until he screws it up?"

"He may be willing to compromise to something like that." Staedtler said after a moment of thought.

Ranma ran her index hand along the head of the white dragon as she leaned back in her throne and thought. The room fell silent as suggestions ran out and they waited. For her. This was her job now, wasn't it… The decisions, the plans, all of it started and ended with her. Eventually she sat up and leaned forward. "Here's what we're doing." She said, and she told them.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Late, but not quite by twenty-four hours. Oooh boy. This got bigger than I expected. I hope you enjoy it. As usual let me know if you spot any grammar or spelling mistakes. I'm just going to go rest my fingers. They hurt. Ooooooooow. *Pained Kitsune*


	8. Chapter 8 Oaths of Broken Fate Evening

Ryu climbed the steps leading up to the top of the rampart of the outer fortress walls in the darkness of the early evening. His only light was a small oil lamp he had been handed by one of the palace servants on his way out. Its flickering light was better than nothing, and he would rather avoid wasting the power of the proper flashlights on something like this.

As he neared the top a second light just passed the lip of the staircase provided a bit more light. He rounded the edge to find Ryouga leaning against the ramparts, an old weathered crate sat next to him with a small lantern and a bottle of something.

Ryu plonked his oil lamp down next to the lantern and Ryouga glanced back over his shoulder at him.

"Hey." The Lieutenant said.

"Hey." Ryouga replied before going back to looking down on the city, or more accurately staring over the city to look at Setarial's Temple. What could be seen from this angle at least. The entrance to the Temple was well lit, but since it had been built into the cliffside above the city only the well lit entrance could be seen.

"We were wondering if you'd wandered off." Ryu started.

The other martial artist snorted. "Don't get lost that easily." He said.

"Sure." The Lieutenant replied as he leaned against the ramparts himself. "I've read your file before. Probably the second thickest after Ranma's."

"Really. Anything interesting?" Ryouga glanced his way.

"Not really. It was thick, but that's because you're involved in nearly as much as Ranma." Ryu replied. "Personal details were a bit thin. Or redacted. There was a bit of black ink. Not as much as Ranma. Nothing hinted you knew anything about medicine though."

"Ah." Ryouga turned fully to look at him as the martial artist continued to lounge against the rampart. "I picked up a few things from Dr. Tofu before he moved out of the area. Not very good at them, but they're useful when your out training in the middle of nowhere and things go wrong."

"I wouldn't know. The Yama-Senken scrolls never covered pressure points and my family's school was rather bare bones in comparison." Ryu said. "Even if it had I doubt I'd be able to use them now anyway."

"From what I heard you gambled away your martial arts on a chance at revenge." Ryouga chuckled.

Ryu couldn't stop the scowl that formed at the reminder. "It was not a gamble." He said. He had won twice and had nearly killed Ranma both times, victory had been practically a guarantee, until it wasn't.

"You lost, didn't you?" Ryouga prodded. The Lieutenant's lack of protest was confirmation enough and the Lunar chuckled again. Ryu was thankful that the poor light hid the blush that had formed. "Might want to bring it up with Ranma."

"Excuse me?" Ryu blinked, "Why would I bring that up, I'm trying to move on from that."

"The Yama-Senken is powerful, right?" Ryouga said.

Ryu nodded. "Very. Too powerful for safe use honestly."

"And we're heading for a war." Ryouga said, his expression going grim. "I'm not much of a fan of killing, but from what I've heard not even a couple feet of iron slowed you down. We could use something like that."

"Yeah." Ryu sighed. "Yeah we could." The thought had crossed his mind a couple of times. He doubted Ranma would go for it, even with a war coming. She had barely tolerated his presence when she had first spotted him. Giving him his greatest weapons again…

The Lieutenant shook his head. "So, why're you up here?" He asked, changing the subject.

Ryouga chuckled in amusement at the subject change before turning to look back out over the city. "Just waiting." He said.

"For?" Ryu prompted.

"For this whole thing to explode in Ranma's face." He said, "Something this big, something always goes wrong. Always. And Ranma's in the middle of it so it's probably going to be a show to remember." Ryu caught sight of the amused grin on the other man's face. "And for once I'm not also at ground zero. Might be fun."

Ryu looked down at the city to the main boulevard through High Quarter that terminated at Setarial's temple. This spot was a perfect view of the Temple's entrance. If anything happened they'd be able to spot it immediately. It was as good a place as any to wait for news.

It was also the perfect chance to learn a bit about Ryouga. All he needed was something to break the ice. "So, I heard you and Ranma were in middle school together." It probably wasn't the best choice, judging by the sharp look Ryouga sent him, but it worked to keep the conversation flowing as the two of them waited for either peace or war to overtake the city below.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter Eight: Oaths of Broken Fate

Part Three: Evening

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

Setarial's Temple was built into the cliffside above the city, far enough away from the waterfall that the roar of the falls had fallen to a murmur. The only entrance to the Temple was a single long bridge that originated in High Quarter and crossed over the north-eastern corner of Mist Town. Wide enough for three carts abreast to roll across and with a high enough roof capable of accommodating even a warstrider, to Kawashima the bridge made for an impressive sight lit as it was by crystal lamps hanging from the archways along the bridge. Still, it was made of wood.

"You sure this is going to hold?" She asked out the open window of her LAV.

An irritable sigh floated down from the roof of the vehicle. "For the tenth time. Yes. It will be fine. During the harvest festival the bridge is pack with carts and people weighing far more than your toys." The Raven Goddess said.

The Corporal spared a glance in her mirrors. The other two vehicles assigned to her command were a pair of Honda Type 73s, and both of them were full. Of servants from the Palace, her squad, and the new 'Castellan'.

"Somehow I doubt any of them were as heavy as these." She snarked.

The Raven sighed. "And it was designed to withstand the weight of a pair of warstriders." She said, "Just move it."

So it could take a pair of mechs walking around on it? "Just standing, or fighting?" She asked.

" _Move_." It probably said something about the day she had had that a Raven growling like a dog was not even the tenth weirdest thing she had experienced over the last twenty-four hours.

"Alright, alright." Kawashima sighed before letting the vehicle roll forward onto the bridge. The rumble of wooden planks beneath the LAV was strange, but there wasn't the sound of breaking wood so the Corporal figured that was a good sign. Still it was a good few minutes of nervously glancing out her window before they reached the far side of the bridge. As the convoy rumbled under the overhang of rock into the large courtyard carved out of the cliffside she sighed. Wood bridges made her nervous, the creaking, the rocking, and the general unsteadiness did nothing to help her nerves.

She pulled the car up next to the steps leading up to the temple gates. "Alright, everyone out." She said to her passengers before stepping out. Koneko, Goto and Yori hopped out of the LAV with her as the two trucks pulled up next to them vehicle.

Ignoring them for a moment Kawashima took a few seconds to survey the temple and its courtyard. The temple had been built into what was either a man made cavern or some kind of natural grotto that had inexplicably formed halfway up the cliffside. The temple itself was set back from the edge with a large courtyard of either carved or tiled stone painted in a mozaic that appeared to be telling some type of story. Something involving the sun and moon from what she could see in the few seconds she could spare.

The temple, or at least the front of it, was three stories tall and constructed in a styling very similar to a Chinese buddhist temple. Ornate statues of gold, jade and other precious materials decorated water features on either side of the main staircase that lead to the main entrance, a pair of ten foot tall oak doors that were equally encrusted with gold and gems. It was very austentatious. Probably fitting for the Goddess of the entire nation. It was a bit much to Kawashima though.

The rest of her detachment spilled out of the trucks along with Ranma, Kodachi, Lily and several of the Palace servants.

"Really fancy, isn't it." Ranma said as she, Kodachi, Lily, and Private Harada joined her. The Redhead turned to look out at the city. "Good view to." She added as she fiddled with the sheathed sword she had cradled in one arm.

"It is." Kawashima agreed. "Very defensible as well. A few people could hold this place for ages if they had the supplies. Just need a machine gun on the bridge." Of course that required them to actually have a spare machine gun. Other than the couple on the LAVs they were a bit short on that particular item.

"Unless they went under." Ranma said as she pointed out the support struts underneath the main bridge.

Kawashima shot her a look. "Maybe if it was one of your type, but most people aren't part monkey." She said.

"Actually," Lily said, tapping her chin, "I believe I could make such a crossing. It wouldn't be easy, but it's far from the most difficult climb I've made. Most any Dragon-blooded could probably do it."

Kawashima stared at her quietly for a moment. "Thank you." She said dryly, "For pointing out just how much of a nightmare securing places from people like you is going to be."

"Not any worse than trying to secure it against me, is it?" Ranma pointed out.

The corporal sighed. "Suppose not." She conceded before turning to Harada. "Alright, just like we discussed. Get the outside secure while my fireteam secures the inside and manages the event. No one gets in before the allotted time, and no one gets in without either an invite or an escort." She ordered.

The other woman saluted. "Yes sir." She bowed to Ranma before heading off to begin organizing the guard.

"We should-" Lily began.

"You've arrived. Wonderful." Setarial interrupted from the top of the stairs. She smiled down at their party. It was a very beautiful smile, showing perfect teeth, but not so many as to be threatening. It felt genuine, but Kawashima couldn't help the feeling that it was well practiced.

"It's only been an hour." Ranma said as she headed up the stairs to meet the Goddess.

"And we have quite a bit to deal with to get you ready for later." Setarial chided, "These are your bodyguards for the evening?" She glanced towards the Corporal. Her eyes seemed to be weighing her, judging. Annoying, it was hardly the first time someone had judged her. Of course she couldn't exactly challenge a Goddess to a shooting contest so… That meant being polite.

"Corporal Kawashima Suki." She said with a smile as she joined them. "The Lieutenant assigned us as the events security."

The Goddess nodded. "As I told your Lieutenant more security is welcome. Without the Immaculate Monks getting in the way I've been able to have my servants take a more overt management of my Temple. Still only one or two are the combat type. Not enough for an event like this." She said.

"Hopefully we're not actually needed." Really the best post was a quiet one. Even if it was boring. Idiots wished for excitement.

"Hopefully not." Setarial agreed before turning back to Ranma. She gestured to the main door, the twin gates that towered a full two stories above them. "Shall we?"

Ranma also gestured to the door and Setarial stepped forward, the redhead falling in step with her. The rest of them, her own fireteam included, hurried to follow.

As they approached the main gates swung open smoothly and quietly. As they group passed through into a rather ornate entrance hall with grand vaulted ceilings and hanging banners something black flickered in the corner Kawashima's eye. She glanced to the side, it had been near the edge of the door, but she couldn't spot anything. She glanced towards Yori. The girl was looking about with a somewhat more nervous look than what she was coming to understand as normal.

Kawashima fell into step with Yori. "See anything?" She asked.

"Something. Somethings, actually." The young woman corrected herself. "Not sure what."

"Take no mind of my servants." Setarial said over her shoulder to them. "They're minor spirits mostly. Harmless unless you go out of your way to agitate them."

"And if you do?" Ranma asked, a curious tilt to her head.

"They'll be circumspect about any revenge." Setarial said, "Not likely to harm, but they will inconvenience you for quite some time." She sounded amused, joy.

Yori kept a bit closer to her as they entered the hallway beyond the main entrance hall. For being underground the temple was quite well lit with crystals like those in the Palace and numerous scented candles that left the air smelling of incense and oranges.

The hallway spilled out into an ornate decorated room. It was a shrine. Ornate scrolls hung from the wall, incense burned both at the base of the shrine and on table around the room, and a life-size statue of the Goddess herself took center stage beneath an arch that mirrored the styling of a traditional Tori gate. A large double door could be seen behind the dais on which the statue rested.

Setarial turned to the group. "This is, normally, as far as anyone is allowed to go unless they are an immaculate. By their order the area beyond was closed to the public. However with them now gone I can utilize the area for its original purpose." She said.

"And that is?" Ranma asked dryly.

"To hold parties of course." Setarial smiled before leading them around the statue to the doors behind it. She threw them open and sunlight poured into the room.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma blinked as pure sunlight washed into the room. Her eyes adjusted quickly and she heard a soft gasp from Kodachi. The door didn't lead to a room, it lead to a garden. It was a beautiful garden, even to Ranma who had little appreciation for flowers. A path of marble tiles started at the door and wound out through the garden, splitting and reuniting many times; passed sculpted hedges, flowerbeds, a pair of gazebos, a four story pagoda on the far side and even a pond that was being filled by a sparkling waterfall in one of the corners. But what drew the eye first was none of these things.

Dominating the space was the source of the pure sunlight that sparkled off the water of the pond and fountains. In the center of the garden, surrounded by a green space filled with emerald grass, was a crystal tree. A willow to be precise, and it was the largest willow Ranma had ever seen or heard of. Its trunk was nearly twice as thick at the base as Ranma was tall and its branches and leaves, all of the same glowing crystal as the trunk, were so thick and densely packed that they obscured sight of the ceiling. The lowest tips of its wispy branches hung barely a foot over Setarial's head.

"Its beautiful." Ranma said after a moment of surprised admiration. Of all the things she had been expecting, a ballroom or dining hall perhaps, a garden definitely not on her list.

Setarial smiled proudly. "It's a Sunlit Willow. A gift from an old friend. I planted the sapling myself when I became the Goddess of Greyfalls." She said before stepping out onto the garden path. "As much as I would love to spend some time showing off my garden there are things we must attend to."

Ranma fell into step beside her, but she continued to glance about the garden. It was quite large, at least a dozen times the size of the courtyard in front of the temple. Her eyes idly traced the path of the waterfall in the corner and after a moment she frowned, puzzled. Where was the water coming from? It wasn't coming from the wall, it almost seemed to be coming from the…

Ranma peered up through the branches of the willow. It was hard to tell, the bright light of the tree made looking passed it difficult, but was there even a ceiling? "Setarial." She said after a few moments of craning her neck. "Does this place have a roof?" She asked.

"No it does not." Setarial confirmed, her own gaze going towards the ceiling for a moment. "This garden was originally a grotto fed by the upper portion of the lesser rock. I excavated the grotto and expanded it into this garden when I was creating my temple. Not that you can tell these days. The willow overshadows even the pagoda now."

"Not that there are many shadows." Kodachi quipped.

Setarial chuckled politely. "Not many at all." She agreed.

As they were talking the doors of the pagoda swung open and what stepped out brought Ranma to a halt. Two bears, tall brown bears, stepped out carrying a pair of large solid wooden tables over their shoulders. Absently Ranma noted that they were wearing robes as well.

"Um?" She turned to look at Setarial, who was still walking.

The Goddess glanced back at her and giggled. "Air elementals. They are helping set up for the party." She said.

"Air elementals?" Kawashima repeated behind her. "Why, how are _bears_ air elementals? How does that make any sense?"

Setarial chuckled and waved for them to continue following. "You will find that though there is a little bit of sense in the shapes that elementals take, it rarely correlates in the manner you would expect." She said.

The air bears bowed politely as they passed the party on a parallel path. Setarial tilted her head in response and granted them a small wave. Shortly after they were at the steps leading into the pagoda. Setarial stopped at the bottom step and turned to face them.

"Before we go and start preparing ourselves for the coming event, we should probably discuss a bit about the presentation and security of it." She said.

"You have a plan." Ranma said as stepped up beside the taller woman.

The Goddess nodded. "The party will be held here in the garden. Refreshments will be set up in the gazebos and some of my servants will help distribute additional throughout the garden." She said, "You, Lily, and Kodachi will be preparing inside the pagoda and when it comes time to explain things to the guests I will do so on the steps of the pagoda. Until then the plan is for myself and my servants to keep them entertained throughout the rest of the garden."

"Once everyone, or most everyone, is here I will have them gather here and given a speech explaining the events of the last day. When we get to me giving my blessing I will ask for you to come out and you will leave the pagoda to join me. At the same time Lily and Kodachi, who I hope will help me entertain the guests, will step out of the crowd and join you. We'll have to address a few complaint no doubt. Then Staedtler will vouch for you, and hopefully Sung will as well. He should be arriving before the rest of the guests with Staedtler so hopefully we can gain his support." Setarial sighed. "Assuming all goes well I will have my servants bring out a proper meal. There will be a bit of dancing, celebration, and hopefully they will agree to swear their oaths to you."

Ranma nodded. "Rather vague, but…"

"Too many variables to plan for more." Setarial agreed. "Now, Corporal how do you wish to handle security?"

Kawashima looked around the garden with a guard look. "This is a big garden." She said, "How many people are we expecting?"

"Between three and five hundred. I'm sorry I don't have more specific numbers." The Goddess said.

"Are any of your servants going to help with this?" The Corporal asked.

Goddess nodded to the bears who were arranging tables in one of the gazebos. "Those two will be available once they're done setting up. They can speak Realm just fine so feel free to speak with them. Just let them know I'm placing you in charge of security. I'm afraid most of my other servants are more suited to serving rather than enforcing." She said.

"Most?" Kawashima prompted after a moment of staring at the supposed Air Elementals. Ranma had to wonder why they were bears…

"I have a few servants who are adept in the arts of war." Setarial said, "However they are already providing security elsewhere in the temple. There are some places that I do not allow anyone into."

The Corporal nodded. "Six is a rather low number for a place this big, but I think we can manage. Not like we're here for more than show anyway." She said before turning a raised eyebrow towards Ranma, "If we fail all that happens in Saotome gets to show off."

Ranma ignored her as Setarial sighed. "Yes, well… We are trying to persuade, not intimidate." The Goddess said.

"Well I'll try not to frighten the skittish ones then." Kawashima replied glibly.

"Very well." Setarial said with a sigh before she turned to Ranma. "Shall we?"

"Where to?" Ranma asked as she, Kodachi, and Lily followed the Goddess into the pagoda.

"Just the next floor up."

-0-0-0-0-0-

The room Ranma was led to was on the second floor. It was a small room with a view that overlooked the garden. A vanity was set up next to the window. A foldable screen separated the back half of the room. Several wooden racks sat along the wall next to the door with numerous clothes hanging from them. A pair of chairs sat next to the desk.

"..and then there is the Shipwrights guild." Setarial had, as she showed them the way, begun to expand on the notable people who might come to the event. "Their head recently stepped down after something involving a Dynast. They haven't selected a new head to my knowledge, however her leaving was not a voluntary thing so Guon Fan may show."

"Hoping for support to regain her position?" Kodachi asked.

"Possibly. However recent events have soured the opinions of many at the guild towards the realm." The Goddess said as she ducked through the door into the room. "They may simply take her back without anyone to gainsay."

Ranma sighed. "As interesting as this is," And it wasn't very interesting to her, "Why didn't you bring these people up during the meeting?"

Setarial shrugged. "Not particularly pertinent on a strategic level. Staedtler has enough influence and money to start or stall a rebellion. Sung is the leader of the northern districts in all but name, and Bengtsson practically owns the south-east." She said. "Guon Fan is the leader of the Shipwrights Guild, and while influential they are based solely in the city. Alone they offer little. The same goes for the head of the Glassworkers Guild."

"Any other groups we should know about?" Ranma asked, taking the chair at the vanity. She set the sword down next to it.

"The only other major industries are the paper mills and porcelain houses." Lily said idly as she poked at the racks of clothing. "I believe both were mainly owned by Dynasts."

"That would be correct." Setarial nodded. "While represenatives may be present, most likely they'll need someone to step in to make sure they do not close down. Most of the others who might otherwise be important owe loyalty to Sung or Bengtsson, or are incapable of mustering enough influence to oppose Staedtler."

"Then if we can focus on what we came up here to do." Kodachi said as she started poking through the rack by her.

"Very well. Lady Kuno, my servants have assembled some clothing for you in the room across the hall." The Goddess said, "Magistrate, the clothing you brought earlier is in the room next door. Some of my servants await to assist you both if you require it."

Lily bowed slightly before ducking out of the room. Kodachi hesitantly looked to Ranma. She smiled and waved her off. "I'll be fine." She said. Kodachi bowed hurriedly and scurried out of the room. As the door clicked shut behind her Ranma sighed.

"I really wonder what happened to her." The Dawn said to the Goddess.

"I explained about visions before." Setarial said as she turned her attention to the clothes.

"Still doesn't tell me what she saw." Ranma groused. She stared at the door for a few moments before she sighed again and put it out of her mind. There were other matters to deal with, and at least Kodachi wasn't acting like the royal bitch she had always been… It was still weird to see though.

Ranma turned to the Goddess who was slowly going through the racks. "So what do you have?" She asked.

"I managed to get your measurements from the palace servants. Some of my own servants tailored what clothes they could find." She gestured at the two racks, only one of which was more than half full. "Alas you fall into a somewhat rare body shape, and spare clothes are rare enough. Finding just this much was to work with was a small miracle." She fixed Ranma with a look. "This would be easier if you hadn't made it clear you like dresses. They are easier to alter."

Ranma rolled her eyes as she stood. "Don't like dresses." She said as she walked over, "But in case you haven't noticed, I'm wearing one right now. Not like I'm about to turn into a guy in a dress anymore." Dresses were girly, which was a major point against them, but the biggest issue had been getting caught by her mother wearing one as a guy. She could almost hear the ring of drawn steel just thinking about it.

She noticed the amused but still annoyed look on the Goddess's face. "That is your problem with them?" Raven hair swayed the Goddess shook her head.

"Dresses are girly, I don't like girly." Ranma said.

"Dresses are feminine, which-"

"Could get my head cut off." Ranma cut in.

Setarial raised an eyebrow. "That seems a bit… odd." She said.

Ranma sighed. "My mother was… strict."

"Strict." Setarial's voice was flat.

"Very." Ranma nodded. It was an easier excuse than explaining the convoluted mess that was the seppuku contract… actually probably better to not bring that up at all. The concept of ritual suicide always got disturbed reactions outside of Japan.

"Hmmm…" Setarial sighed. "Well then. You come from an interesting place." She said eventually.

"Don't have any crystal trees back home." Ranma offered.

"That tree is no more natural here." Setarial said after a moment as she looked at Ranma. For a few seconds her smile faltered and her eyes seemed to look passed Ranma, then it was gone leaving her usual composed smile. "A friend gave it to me years ago. She gave me a small forest of them actually. I grew that tree from a seed from the last of them on my estate in Yu-Shan."

Ranma glanced towards the window where pure sunlight spilled into the room. It was night, but that tree made it seem like daylight. "Huh."

"Now." Setarial shook her head and turned back to the racks. "Let us get you prepared for this evening. The past can wait for a better time."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"These aren't going to work." Ranma couldn't quite believe the words even as she said them. The contents of both racks were piled on the two spare chairs as Ranma tried on the last 'outfit' behind the screen.

The tunic and pants she was wearing were a particularly unpleasant shade of purple that combined with the particular shade of green used as an accent reminded her distinctly of an eggplant. She plucked at the sleeves and sighed. No, this was not going to work.

"The selection… is worse than I had anticipated." Setarial admitted from the other side of the screen. "I should have paid more attention, unfortunately there has been more to deal with today than even I could keep track of."

Ranma pulled off the top and tossed it over the screen, the pants followed a moment later. She slipped the dress back on and stepped out from behind the screen. She looked at the pile of clothes; all in styles she wouldn't mind wearing, but which were in shades and patterns capable of making her nauseous at the thought of wearing them; and considered, privately, whether it was time to try something else.

"Do you have anything… untailored?" She asked.

"Everything they could find that might have been acceptable is here." Setarial sighed, "It was not like I could just send them to ransack the city searching for clothing for you. The number of issues something like that might have caused…"

That was a good point Ranma had to admit as she gave the pile of discarded clothing one final glance. It was, in hindsight, surprising that she had this much on hand. "Did you consider bringing anything down from the Palace?" She asked.

"Everything my servants gathered is here." Setarial replied.

Ranma picked up the shirt on top of the pile nearest her. It was a bright pink with teal accents. She had to give Setarial's servants credit where it was due, everything was tailored to fit her perfectly. Not a small feat given that they had never so much as met her. Now if only they hadn't apparently had the colour preferences of a blind monk.

She dropped the shirt unceremoniously back onto the pile. "Options?" She asked.

"Were this something lesser we could probably get away with simply sticking you in something nice, if ill-fitting." Setarial said tapping her chin thoughtfully, "However this is your debut and we are trying to sell you. A display of power and influence is needed and many of these people are the type to pick at any flaw they see."

Ranma sighed. Perhaps it was time for her to swallow a bit of her stubborness. "What about dresses?" She asked, "Anything on hand that might work?"

"Nothing tailored." The Goddess confessed. "We could probably find something that fits decently…" She paused and her eyes darted towards the sheathed blade leaning against the vanity. "How do you feel about something with power to it?"

Ranma followed her gaze the sword and picked it up, unsheathing it a few inches as she did. Immediately the room, previously warm, cooled noticeably to the level of a spring morning. She resheathed it with a clack and the room started to warm up. "You mean something like this." She said.

"Similar." Setarial said. She held out a hand. "May I?"

Ranma handed over the sword and the Goddess turned it over in her hands thoughtfully. She unsheathed it, cooling the room again, and ran her hand along the blade."You haven't attuned to it yet I see." She said.

"What do you mean attuned?" Ranma asked, her eyes following the naked blade cautiously.

"Artifacts of such power as this require a commitment from their wielders." Setarial explained, "A sacrifice of essence imbued into the blade by the wielder that bonds the two together. Through exploring this bond the wielder is able to call upon the magic of the artifact. How it is expressed changes from wielder to wielder, but it is always an expression of the artifact's nature and history." She sheathed the blade and handed it back to Ranma.

Ranma accepted it carefully. "By essence, do you mean my ki?" She asked.

"If that is what you call the energy that lurks in all things." Setarial said. Ranma nodded. "Then yes, your ki must be imbued into the blade. Be aware that whatever you put into it will remain in the blade and be impossible for you to use for other feats unless you are willing to let the bond fade."

Ki was the key to accessing the magic of a weapon? Ranma turned the sheathed blade over in her hands. "So when that guy used this to launch icicles at me, I might not be able to do that?" She asked.

"Possibly not. More than likely you could manage something similar, though again it would be an evocation of the bond you share with the blade, unique to you." Setarial said.

"And you want to offer me a… dress or something that's like this?" Ranma weighed the blade carefully. "Be a bit cold wouldn't it?"

Setarial snorted. "That blade is made from blue jade and was probably forged in the far north. Blue jade is naturally expressive of ice, wind, and the cold north. Combine that with whatever conditions were present during its forging and its nature is expressed in the ice and cold it sheds at all times." She explained, "The artifact I mentioned has a different history altogether and the nature of its power is likewise different."

Ranma nodded. She set the blade down against the vanity and sat down on the available chair. "If you attune to an artifact does it, change, you?" She asked after a moment of thinking.

"It can." Setarial said after a moment. "Most do not, but there are artifacts that are malignant in their nature. I have heard of blades that drive their wielders mad with bloodlust, and suits of armour that drain the emotions of those who wear them. Care must be taken when handling an unknown artifact."

"However," She continued, "what I have in my position is not one of those. A set of silken armour produced millennia ago for an important queen. Only worn once by her."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Only once?" She asked.

The goddess shrugged. "It was made in the style of the era, which was rather more conservative than she preferred. She was one of the first exalted you see and she preferred more… shall we say provocative attire." Setarial sighed. "She was a good friend, if rather eccentric at times. It was one of the few things I recovered from her palace after the usurpation."

The Goddess paused, her lips pursed in thought. "You remind me of her actually." She said after a moment. "She was a Dawn caste like you. A veteran of the Primordial war and a warrior with few rivals. Even her hair was only a few shades darker than your own."

Ranma pulled the end of her braid forward and stared at it thoughtfully before looking up at the Goddess. "That's why you're taking a gamble on me, isn't it?" She asked. As the Goddess stiffened she smiled. That was the piece she was missing. "I remind you of her, but I'm not her. You know that, right?"

Setarial let out an explosive sigh. "A part of each bearer resides inside each exaltation after their death, but yes. Even if you do have her exaltation I can tell the difference between my old friend and you."

It was strange, seeing someone who seemed ageless look… old. For a minute it was as if all the years of her life had borne down on the Goddess and Ranma thought she could see a few strands of grey hair. Then it was gone as the Goddes shook herself and regained her composure.

"Still, the question remains. Will you be willing to give it a chance?" Setarial asked.

"Will it fit?" Ranma asked.

"Not as much of a problem as you might expect." Setarial said, "Most artifact armour has some… give to it. When attuned it will resize to fit."

"Convenient." Ranma drawled.

Setarial smiled mischievously. "There were issues early into the primordial war when successors to fallen exalted discovered that the armour they were to inherit wouldn't fit properly." Ranma snorted at the thought. "Afterwards it became standard practice to try and include such malleability in artifact armour. With full plate and other heavier sets of armour there was limited success, however Silken armour has never had an issue. Cloth is very malleable."

Ranma leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes, thinking deeply. "The armour would require another commitment separate from the sword?" She asked.

"Most artifacts require their own commitment. Wear too many artifacts…" Setarial trailed off.

"And you have nothing to do anything else with." Ranma finished. Bonding both the sword and the armour would probably be tough on her… Not like she really liked swords. Too easy to kill with. Mind you the armour could very well be a very fru-fru dress…

She sighed and opened her eyes. Looking up at Setarial she said, "Alright. I'll take a look at it."

Setarial bowed. "I will be back shortly." She said before fading from view without warning.

Ranma starred at the spot where the Goddess had disappeared for a few moments before her eyes tracked to the sheathed sword leaning against the vanity. Was this the right choice? Magic made her nervous, and in her experience magic clothes were… trouble. A lot of trouble…

…

Well she hadn't gotten this far by second guessing herself, so full ahead it was and damn the fru-fru! Hopefully.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kawashima had to admit that the idea to hold the event at the temple was better than she had first thought. The garden was beautiful in an unearthly way that was undoubtedly going to put most of the guests on the back foot. It was certainly putting her off balance.

Oddly enough Yori seemed to find the place quite relaxing as she leaned against one of the gazebos, her rifle cradled in her arms as she looked about curiously.

Goto and Koneko seemed somewhere between her and Yori in terms of nervousness. The pair were chatting about something as they walked around the garden investigating every nook and cranny. They weren't expecting issues until the guests arrived, but Kawashima preferred to know what 'normal' was before people started showing up. At least then they'd have an idea if something was out of place.

So while her subordinates were securing the garden, or enjoying it as the case might be, Kawashima had to deal with the last awkward task. Talking to the bears. To her surprise they were quite polite when she introduced herself.

"I is Ikorov." Said the first bear as he bowed low to her, so his head was only a foot above her rather than the three or four it normally was. "This is Mikorov." He gestured to his partner.

"It is good to meet you." The second bear said with a much thinner accent than his friend. "Tonight is looking to be very exciting."

"Yes it is." Kawashima said, straining her neck as she looked up at them.

"You said you is in charge of security?" Ikorov asked.

"Yes." She said, "Setarial said the two of you were to help out once you were done setting up."

Ikorov smiled, or at least she thought it was a smile. He certainly showed a lot of teeth. "It would be our pleasure." Mikorov said, also smiling in that very beary manner.

"Excellent." Kawashima could say with pride that she did not react, visibly, to the sight of many dozens of gleaming white teeth and fangs merely a foot away from her face.

Ikorov straightened. "Where would you like us?" He asked.

She considered. Where was it appropriate to put a pair of bears? "How good are you with people?" She asked as an idea came to her.

"Mikorov is the one who likes talking more." Ikorov said, elbowing his partner playfully.

The other bear grunted. "It is always exciting to speak with new people." He said.

Kawashima smiled, she made sure it showed as many teeth as possible. "Perhaps the two of you would like to be by the entrance." She said, "Impress on people Lady Setarial's hospitality?"

The two bears grinned, showing many more teeth. "We would like that." Ikorov said.

"Excellent." Kawashima said. "I'll leave the two of you to it then."

"Have a good evening Corporal." Mikorov said. They bowed to each other and Kawashima beat a polite, if quick, retreat. Privately she mourned her earlier indulgence that had led to her empty flask hanging from her harness. She really needed a drink.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Fifteen minutes later the swung open. Ranma looked up from her examination of the sword as Setarial breezed gracefully into the room. On her heels came an odd looking young woman carrying a small chest. Her skin was a dark grey and her eyes were a solid black. Black feathers could be seen poking out of her black hair.

Setarial brushed a pile of clothing off one of the chairs onto the floor. "On the chair please." She instructed. Her servant placed the chest on the chair and immediately backed off, bowing to both of them. "Thank you. You can return to your duties now." The Goddess said. The servant curtsied and fled quickly, closing the door behind her as she went.

Ranma dismissed the odd servant, a spirit of some kind undoubtedly, and turned her attention to the chest. "So?" Ranma prodded.

Setarial smiled. "Fortunately my vaults are reasonably organized. Locating it did not take long." She said as she unlatched and opened the chest. She turned the chair it was on to face Ranma. The chest was split into two sections, one held several piece of jewelry in that strange gold-like metal, the other held the folded form of the artifact.

The Dawn blinked as she caught her first glance of the artifact. It was white, a white so pure it seemed as though it should glow. She reached out then paused and glanced at Setarial. The goddess smiled and waved her on.

The material was silky, appropriate given that it was called 'silken armour', but unlike her own silk shirts it felt almost alive. Not writhing in her hands alive, but more like it had an energy to it that ordinary cloth lacked. It was almost like someone had turned a hurricane into cloth.

Decorative motifs of that odd gold material graced the collar and sleeves. The sun and moon, made of a silver like material that as cold and felt wet to the touch even though it wasn't, were intertwined at the base of the low hanging collar. It would probably reveal, tastefully, the top of the breasts if worn. The sleeves were a bit odd, long and concealing except for the back where, instead of being sewn together they were bound by widely placed tied like those her favourite shirt back home used. A glance confirmed that they were, in fact, sewn together at the ties.

"It's different." She said after finishing her cursory examination of the dress. It was, however, still a dress. Fate seemed to be against her on that count.

"Of course it is." Setarial said, "It is Meru's Wind."

"What?" Ranma asked as she folded back the collar. The inside of the dress seemed to be backed in a mesh of the same silver and gold materials behind a sheer layer of the same material that the made up the outer layer.

"That is its name." Setarial said, "Every greater artifact has a name. It is named after the city of Meru where Queen Merela held court."

Queen Merela. Ranma cocked her head thoughtfully. It seemed… Something. It wasn't familiar, but… Like a ghost of a not-quite-memory or something. "This was made for her?" She asked after shaking off the strange feeling.

"It was." Setarial said, "Only the best for the Queen of the Exalted host."

Ranma paused in her examination and gave carefully re-evaluated the garment in her hands. It was like being handed one of the Imperial Regalia. Not quite the same since unlike those this was _intended_ to be worn, but the parallels were enough to give her pause. "That… And you want me to wear this?" She asked, setting the dress carefully back into the chest.

"Artifacts are created to be used, not admired." Setarial said simply, "To let it sit would be a waste. Of course you are not required to make use of it."

Ranma stared at the Goddess then glanced down at the dress again, then back up at the Goddess. A small smile had wormed its way onto the Goddess's face. God damn it. She had backed herself into a corner again, hadn't she? She couldn't exactly turn this down without possibly insulting both the Goddess or her long dead friend.

Ranma groaned softly before looking back at Setarial. "How do I attune it?" She asked.

The smile widened into one of genuine amusement. Undoubtedly the Goddess had somehow picked up on her thoughts. "Place you hand on it." Setarial instructed. Ranma set her hand on the bundle of clothing. "Good, now try reaching for it with your essence. Everything after that should come naturally."

Ranma closed her eyes as she pulled on her ki. Like it had ever since her arrival it responded with alacrity. She pushed the torrent of ki gently towards _Meru's Wind_ and felt it sink into the artifact. She twitched as something inside the dress responded to her ki's presence, reaching out in turn to intertwine with it.

She gasped as it reach through her own ki to her, the power of the dress intertwining within her just as her ki was intertwining within it. It sang without words, a resonance that reverberated throughout her soul.

Finally, after a time that she really couldn't say how long it was, the resonance faded and the world, which she had been oblivious to, came back into focus. She shook her head and stared at the dress before her. She could _feel_ it. Like an arm, or a leg. Something that was part of her, but at the same time…

She exhaled raggedly. "That was…" She trailed off. The words she could conjure were... Insufficient.

"Attuning to an artifact can be an interesting experience." Setarial said with a small knowing smile.

"A bit of warning would have been nice." Ranma said as she stood, picking up the dress as she did. The odd feeling of being there and here was fading quickly, but she could still feel a part of herself in the dress.

"I've found that experience is better when it comes to greater artifacts." Setarial said, "Mortal languages tend to lack the proper… inflections." The Goddess shrugged.

"Right." Ranma breathed out. She was shaking a bit.

"Perhaps you should try it on?" Setarial prodded gently.

Ranma nodded and made for the screen. She paused after a couple steps. It felt like she was forgetting something. She glanced back. A pair of stocking lay at the bottom of the chest. They gave her the same feeling as the dress. She sighed and scooped them up before disappearing behind the screen.

The dress had shrunk somewhat without her noticing. It had, as Setarial had said, adjusted itself to fit her perfectly.

She paused and looked at herself in the mirror as she finished pulling on the second stocking. She frowned. It had been a long time since she had last worn a dress this fancy. Since the Wandering Isle and the prince who insisted on kidnapping girls for prospective brides. How his line ever reached him without being poisoned in their sleep was beyond her.

Still she had to admit, in that part of her that took pride in her female side, that she looked really good in the dress. It was a bit of an odd style when in came to the skirt, only reaching her mid-thigh on the right before swooping back and to the left and in the process leaving quite a bit of her legs on display.

Despite looking good it was, however, still a dress. She gave a small twirl and look at herself in the mirror. It looked good, but… Dress. And now she could almost feel something that might be a pout coming from the dress.

"Don't want to wear a dress." She mumbled as she pulled at the skirting. She paused. For a moment she had felt… understanding? Yes something resembling understanding, coming from the outfit she was wearing.

Hadn't Setarial said that some artifacts had a degree of sentience? She had also said the powers came from the nature of the bond between Exalted and Artifact.

Ranma decided to try something. It probably wouldn't do anything, but better to try and fail than get stuck in a dress… and again that feeling of understanding…

Sighing she gripped her ki and pushed a bit of it at the dress she was wearing along with the impression of 'not a dress'. She had barely begun organizing her thoughts when the dress responded.

If asked later on she would deny squeaking as the stocking started crawling up her legs. It took only moments, but as Ranma watched the dress shifted into a shirt, it's skirting disappearing entirely as it withdrew to her waist. At the same time the stocking merged, threads merging as if they had been sewn that way as they form a pair of very nice, and very tight fitting, pants.

Ranma stared for a moment. "Was that supposed to happen?" She mumbled as she turned around to look at her back in the mirror. She ran a hand along her backside, it was definitely a pair of silk pants. A bit tight though… She pressed that desire lightly against _Meru's Wind_ and immediately the pants loosened becoming more like a high quality version of her favourite pair back home. In white and gold instead of black, but it was the style that counted.

Out of curiosity she poked it again and watched as a string of ties ran down the front of the shirt. Even the intertwined sun and moon at the bottom of the low neckline had changed almost like… She reached up and touch it. Yes, they had become a clasp and there was a proper break in the fabric being held shut by the ties.

She smirked at herself in the mirror and twirled on the spot. This was more to her liking.

Of course now she had to explain this to Setarial… Assuming the Goddess hadn't withheld this just to get a rise out of her.

She frowned before shrugging. She made a couple small tweaks, the sleeves were a little wide for her taste, before nodding and stepping out from behind the screen.

"What-" The surprised look on the Goddess's face was perhaps the most genuine expression of emotion she had seen from the millennia old woman all day. Well she probably hadn't a clue about the shapeshifting nature of the dress then.

"It can shapeshift." Ranma shrugged. Distantly she noted the dress seemed… amused at the Goddess's reaction. She had to agree, it was amusing.

The Goddess shook herself and sighed. She smiled again. "Well that is one way of getting out of wearing a dress I suppose." She said.

Ranma slipped into the vanity's chair with a sigh. "Well now that we're done with this-" She began.

"Not quite." Setarial interrupted, moving back over to the chest.

"What now?" Ranma asked plaintively.

The Goddess smirked. "First there is the lack of make-up. While you got away with none earlier this is a formal event, not just a meeting between enemies."

Ranma groaned. She hated make-up. Whomever invented the idea was lucky to already be long dead since had she managed to lay hands on them… Well she wasn't quite sure what she'd have done, but it was unlikely to be pleasant.

Setarial chuckled at her reaction. "View it as a necessary evil." She said as she fished a couple of items out of the chest.

"I've already accepted enough necessary evils to populate my own personal hell." The redhead snarked.

Setarial chuckled. "That is one way of looking at it." She replied before holding out a necklace.

"Not a fan of jewelry." Ranma said as she took the delicate construct of gold and gems. She blinked at the soft warmth coming from the necklace. "Is this an artifact?" She asked.

"Yes. A lesser artifact known as a Collar of Dawn's Cleansing Light." Setarial said, "This one is made from orihalcum. That is why it feels warm. Unlike most artifacts these don't require attunement. Simply wearing it is enough."

Ranma turned it over in her hands. "What does it do?" She asked.

"It keeps you clean."

Ranma blinked. "Wouldn't that get rid of make-up?" She asked. Really wasn't make-up just putting the right colour of dirt on your face to help it look better?

Setarial snorted and stifled some laughter. "Its magic is somewhat more selective than that." She said after her moment of merriment.

Ranma sighed and put it on. The moment she latched it together around her neck a wave of warmth rolled across her before dissipating. She blinked, it felt like she had just had a bath. She stared at her hand which had still been a little dirty from climbing the palace. All she saw was clean unblemished skin.

"Huh." Was all she said. She felt a bit conflicted. On one had that was a really convenient trick, on the other hand it was jewelry… Privately she added one more evil to her list of things she'd tolerate.

A knock at the door brought her out of her introspection. "Come in." Ranma said, hoping for a distraction.

The door opened and Kodachi stepped in. She was wearing a very tasteful dress in a dark green with long sleeves and a shawl that was a few shade lighter. "You found something I see." She said as she closed the door behind her.

"We had to go looking a bit far afield." Ranma said. "Everything here was…"

"I will be having words with my servants about their… taste in fashion." Setarial said, picking up as Ranma trailed off.

Kodachi blinked. "I- I see." She said. She probably did not understand, but there was not much else to say.

"Now. Make-up." Setarial said.

Ranma groaned. "Please tell her I don't need any." She pleaded with Kodachi.

The black haired girl's head tilted to one side as she evaluated Ranma. "A bit around the eyes, and her cheeks could use a little blush." She said, bringing Ranma's hopes down around her.

"I was thinking the same thing." Setarial said brightly.

"Also… A cape perhaps?" Kodachi continued as she stared at Ranma.

Ranma blinked and looked up at Setarial. The Goddess looked back thoughtfully. "Perhaps a half-cape? Off the left shoulder and attached to the right hip?" She offered, "Can you?" She directed the last to Ranma with a raise eyebrow.

Taking her que Ranma poked _Meru's Wind_. It responded with something that felt like disappointment. "I don't think so?" She said after a moment, to the confusion of Kodachi.

"Pity." Setarial sighed. "While a nice idea I'm not certain we have the time to try and run one down. This will have to do."

Kodachi smiled. "Would you like a hand with the make-up?" She asked.

"If you would like to help I can show you a few things I'm certain." Setarial smiled.

Ranma groaned. Why was this her life?

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was fifteen minutes later when the door opened without warning and Lily poked her head in. "Magistrate." Setarial greeted her as she carefully reapplied some cosmetic whose name Ranma did not know to the area around her eyes. It looked like a pencil to her.

"I see you're just about finished." Lily said, "Good. Sung Huain is almost here."

Setarial smiled. "Excellent. Lady Kuno if you wouldn't mind putting the make-up back into the desk I will escort our Castellan down stairs to one of the meeting rooms." She said, finishing the last bit before placing the 'pencil' back on the vanity.

"Done?" Ranma asked.

"Done." Setarial confirmed with another small smile.

Ranma looked at her reflection and restrained herself from rolling here eyes. As much as she did not want to admit it, they had done quite a good job. She looked just a little bit older, a little more mature. It would probably be easier for other to take her seriously, which could only help tonight.

"Lets go." She said, standing and walking around Kodachi who was placing the myriad of implements back into their original locations.

"I'll be down in a moment." Kodachi said distractedly.

"Take your time." Ranma said as she followed Setarial and Lily out of the room.

The meeting room was down on the main floor, just off the main hallway. It lacked a window, but it had plenty of light from a small chandelier of the same crystals that she had seen in the Palace.

It was a simple room. A few bookshelves and small tables decorated the edge of the room while a half dozen very nice leather backed chairs were arrayed around a rectangular table. Ranma slid into the chair and sighed. It was a comfortable chair.

Lily paused at the door. "With your permission I'll go and guide Sung in when he arrives." She said.

"Go ahead." Ranma said and the older woman slipped back out.

Ranma leaned back in her chair. This meeting was going to be harder than the one with Staedtler was. To start with they had less time. The meeting with Staedtler had taken hours. They had less than an hour to convince Sung to work they them. For this she could not be unsure. She had to act, at the very least, as if she knew what she was doing.

And wasn't that a joke in and of itself. In less than twenty-four hours she had gone from being bored out of her mind by her mother's genealogy lesson to having an entire city relying on her… All things considered it still only ranked in the top three weirdest days of her life. So far anyway.

Still she needed to be more… authoritative? Decisive? Both really. She needed people to listen to her, even if she wasn't the most physically imposing person in the room.

Ranma closed her eyes as she considered the problem. The room was silent except for the sound of turning pages as Setarial looked through one of the books in the room.

The silence was broken minutes later by a knock on the door. "Come in." Ranma said, opening her eyes as she sat up.

The door swung open and a familiar man with a cane stepped through. "Good even Your Grace." Staedtler said. A step behind him came Kodachi.

Ranma grinned. "Hello to you to." She replied, before counting the chairs with a frown. "You couldn't have picked someplace with more chairs?" She asked Setarial.

"It was large, or private." The Goddess responded. "I chose private. Some of us will simply have to stand. I have no issues doing so."

"Well you are also a Goddess." Staedtler reminded her with a grin of his own. "Some of us are not blessed with endless youth." He groaned overdramatically as he settled into the chair to Ranma's right.

"The seating looks fine to me." Kodachi added as she slipped in on Ranma's other side.

"When we have Lily, Sung, and whoever he brings with him?" Ranma asked rhetorically.

"Oh. Yes well." Kodachi blushed and fell silent.

Staedtler leaned towards Ranma. "Have you decided on what we're offering Sung?" He asked.

Ranma sighed. There had been quite a bit of debate before they had broken up, and more than a few suggestions had been bandied about. A lot of it depended on what style of government they were going to run, and honestly that was something she knew nothing about.

"Right now I leaning towards Governor of the north." She said, "With a promise of a post of equal or greater prestige if the job is no longer need."

The old trader ran a hand along his chin. "Plenty of prestige to it, and power." He noted.

"It's also an appointment, which means I can take it away if he screws up." She added.

"Not particularly likely." Staedtler said, "He is a competent administrator, and has a keen eye for opportunity. Not that he always takes it."

"What do you mean?" Kodachi asked.

"Sometimes he'll see an opportunity for a good investment, but rather than take it himself he passes it onto other people he knows." Staedtler said. "It's why he has so much support up north. More than a few people owe quite a bit of their success to him."

"A kingmaker." Setarial observed.

"Quite." Staedtler agreed.

Ranma sighed and leaned back into her chair again. "We'll have to see what he wants." She said.

"Yes we will." The older man agreed.

Conversation drifted onto lighter topics for a while before another knock at the door prompted everyone to straighten themselves out.

"Enter." Ranma said.

The door opened and Lily entered, stepping to the side as she did. "May I present Sung Huain, and his wife and daughter Sung Shu and Sung Ya." She said with a bow.

The man who entered the room was thin and tall. His black hair was cut short and he lacked any sort of facial hair. He wore a very plain blue robe of fine silk.

His wife was shorter than he was with long black hair and dressed in a much more decorated set of red robes. Their daughter took after the mother in both dress and body.

"Greetings." Sung Huain said, bowing as he entered. "I come as asked Lady Setarial." His wife and daughter bowed and echoed him quietly.

Ranma and Kodachi shared a quiet look. It was like seeing someone step out of a history book on old Chinese dynasties.

"Welcome Sung Huain." Setarial said before gesturing to the seating. "Please sit."

"Thank you, milady." He said as he took the seat opposite Ranma. His wife sat at his right while his daughter stood behind him. "However it would appear that this meeting is more than I expected." He looked right at Ranma before shifting his gaze to Staedtler and back again. "Much more I would say."

"And you'd be right." Staedtler said with a wave. "A lot has happened over the last day, and unless we get it sorted out we're looking at a nasty future."

"May I introduce Lady Castellan Saotome Ranma." Lily said as she stood behind and to the right of Ranma.

"It is good to meet you. Sung Huain." Ranma said. This meeting was far more formal than she liked, but she had the feeling that Sung Huain liked formality.

"I would say it is an honour to meet someone who has obviously gained the approval of our Goddess," Huain began, "However I have heard disturbing rumours of Anathema making their rounds of the city."

Ranma's eyes narrowed. A thought and a slight application of ki lit up her forehead with that strange mark. All three of the Sung's recoiled slightly at the sight. "Does that answer your questions?" She asked.

For a moment it looked as though he would bolt before he visibly gathered himself. "Yes. Yes it does." He said cautiously.

"Be at ease Sung Huain." Setarial said reassuringly. She walked around the table and took the seat to his left. "Things are not as the Immaculate Order would have the world believe."

"You have never spoken out before milady." Sung said, bowing his head deferentially.

"I may be millennia older than the Immaculate Order, but I am only a Goddess and against the might of the Realm. Well, one Goddess can only manage so much." She confessed.

"Hear us out." Ranma said, drawing their attention from their Goddess back to her. "If you don't like what we have to say, you can leave at any time. You have my word."

"And mine." Staedtler added, "You know I don't give my word lightly." The two men stared at each other for a while.

"No." Sung said, "No, you do not give it lightly. I will hear you out."

"Wonderful." Setarial smiled and took one of his hands. "You will not regret it Sung Huain."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Riding in a coach was never the most comfortable of experiences. It was even worse when travelling over cobbled street. Still, better to endure a coach ride then walk the length of the city. That was Bengtsson Gehard's opinion, and it was fact as far as he was concerned.

"There are a lot of carriages coming this way." His wife, Bengtsson Margaret, noted as they passed the main street.

"Everyone is invited." Gehard said dismissively.

"Not everyone." His wife replied glibly.

"Everyone of any importance." He corrected. "I'm surprised so many are showing. I would be surprised if this wasn't a trap of some kind."

"You are always so pessimistic." Margaret said, "This is the first time the Goddess of the City has hosted an event like this inside her temple. No one can afford to say there weren't here for that."

He snorted. "Were it on any other day I'd be less suspicious, however it is not on any day that the Realm abandons a Satrapy. As Leitleen said, this will be where the fate of the city is decided." He told her.

"Hmmm." She looked back out the window, leaning on one elbow. Her free hand absently pulled at their youngest son's hair. The fifteen year old seemed to be as annoyed at the action as he ever was, but said nothing. Not that saying something would have done anything at all to stop Margaret from fussing more. That annoyance was the only sign he ever saw in the boy that he was growing up, as weak and sickly as he tended to be.

The rest of the ride was silent and, fortunately, short. Before long they were trundling across the bridge to the temple. He watched as the guards directed his driver to drop them at the stairs before heading back over the bridge.

Interestingly all the guards were women, and all of them carried those oddly short firewands. Women serving in the military was not unheard of, but it was odd to see so many in one place.

"We're here sir." His driver said as they came to a stop.

"Good." He growled, popping open the door himself and hopping out. He truly hated coaches.

His wife and son waited for the driver to lower the steps before joining him. He made sure to help her down the stairs, it would hardly do to be caught not being properly courteous to his own wife.

"I have to head back over the bridge sir." His driver said after he folded up the steps. "They don't want us cluttering things up here. They said they'll let us know when things wrap up."

Gehard nodded. "Fine, just don't go too far. If things go wrong…"

His driver nodded. "I'll be on hand sir." With that he climbed back up onto the driver's seat.

As the coach trundled off Gehard turned and offered his arm to his wife. "Shall we." He said.

"Of course." She replied, taking his arm.

"Stay close boy." He said to his son as they started up the stairs. Behind them another coach rolled up to the steps.

At the door another pair of women were on guard. "Straight through the temple. Entrance to the party is out the back of the shrine." The one on the left said.

"Thank you." His wife said as they passed.

It was a rare thing for the temple to be open to the public, but Bengtsson could say that he had indeed seen the beauty that was the halls of the _Temple of the Hidden Sun_ before. Only twice before, but it meant he knew where to go. Straight through the _Hall of Five Suns_ , down the hall at the back, and out into Setarial's shrine.

Both times he had been there before he had wondered at what lay further into the temple behind the doors of the shrine, but there had always been Immaculate Monks before the door. It was a fool who ignored the implied threat. Now the doors were wide open, spilling sunlight of all things into the room.

"Oh my." His wife murmured as they stopped at the doorway.

He looked up at the crystal tree that towered over them. It was massive, and the sunlight the poured from it made it hard to look at. " _Temple of the Hidden Sun_ indeed." He said as they stepped out onto the stone path through the garden.

"We are happy to hear that it makes an impression." A deep accented voice said from the side.

As one the Bengtssons turned and froze.

A second even more accented voice spoke up. "Hope that we make equally grand impression." Bears. Two very large brown bears wearing the type of hat most commonly used by the bureaucrats of the Thousand Scales were sitting at an oversized table. A winglass sat in front of both of them and cards were scattered across the table.

One of them took a sip from the wineglass in front of it. "Welcome to our Lady's garden." It said. "I am Mikorov and this is Ikorov. We are servants of her Lady Setarial." They were Spirits. They had to be.

"Yes, good servants." Said the second bear, Ikorov. "Here we impress upon you our Lady's Glorious Hospitality!" He saluted them with this wineglass… which looked more like a stein with a winestem attached to it.

"Th-thank you." His wife curtsied and he followed her lead, bowing quite stiffly.

"Do enjoy the party." The first, Mikorov, said with a grin that could send children running. If you were willing to stretch the definition of a smile that far.

"We," Bengtsson licked his suddenly dry lips. "We shall. Good evening." He quickly pulled his family along deeper into the garden. Behind him he heard someone else make the acquaintance of the large talking bears.

Perhaps it had been a good thing that the Immaculate Monks had kept this place under lock and key. Getting eaten as a child would have been an inconvenience.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I see." Huain said. His head rested on his hands as he leaned against the table. His wife patted him on the arm, an attempt at reassurance that rang a bit hollow with the way she seemed to be staring at Ranma with blank eyes.

Ranma shifted uncomfortably as she noticed that the daughter was also looking at her in much the same way.

"This… A decision must be reached tonight?" Huain asked. He wanted more time, understandable but...

"Unfortunately yes." Staedtler said with a sigh. "Bengtsson was in the middle of moving on you when Leitleen got the drop on him."

"He wouldn't dare." Huain said uncertainly.

"He wished to capture your daughter and force your own forces to bend knee to him." Setarial said. His daughter flinched and Huain scowled.

"And he has been dealt with?" He asked, his tone rising.

"Leitleen left him with a warning." Setarial said, "He knows we are watching."

Huain shook his head. "You left him as a threat." He said looking around the room.

"One we're looking to deal with." Ranma said, drawing his attention back to her. "That's what tonight is all about. We're trying to make it clear who's in charge now."

A knocked on the door interrupted Huain's answer. "Enter." Ranma called.

Kawashima poked her head in. "Sorry to interrupt, but guests are starting to show." She said, "Including Bengtsson."

Huain went to stand and was held back by his wife and daughter. "Stay Huain." His wife said softly. They shared a look and after a moment he nodded and sat back down.

"I must go." Setarial said, giving the man a pat on his shoulder as she rose. "Thank you Corporal." Kawashima nodded and ducked back out. The Goddess turned to Huain. "Please, find a way to work with Lady Saotome. She has my full confidence." That said she left the room.

"So-" Staedtler started, only to stop as Huain raised a hand to silence him.

Silence descended on the group as Huain rested his head in his hands. He was thinking obviously, but about what Ranma had to wonder. He was different from what she had expected. He was one of the two to gather weapons, but he seemed so softly spoken most of the time.

"Father." His daughter said finally, "We must give an answer."

"Yes." He sighed. "Yes we must." He looked up at Ranma. "You have a presence, Lady Castellan. A confidence, but one that does not enter your words. I do not see what she sees, but then I am a man and she is a Goddess."

He sat straight and looked to his wife and daughter. "This decision affects all of us, and more. My two flowers, tell me what you think." He asked them.

"I do not know." His wife said after a moment of looking searchingling at Ranma.

"I do." His daughter said, drawing the attention of her parents.

"You are certain?" He asked.

"Yes." She said before turning to Ranma and bowing low. "We do as the Goddess asks of us."

Ranma blinked and shared a look with Kodachi before glancing at Staedtler. The old man seemed amused at the turn of events. "Your name?" She asked, before Huain could speak.

"Sung Ya, your grace." The girl said.

"Tell me, Sung Ya, why are you so sure that that is the best choice?" Ranma asked. The girl had a certainty to her that was fascinating and disturbing at the same time.

"Yes my child." Huain said, "Why?"

The girl studied her father for a moment before looking again to Ranma. "The Goddess knows more than any of us, but more than that I see something I never saw in the Dynasts with Lady Saotome." She said.

"And that is?" Huain prodded again.

"Care."

Ranma tilted her head curiously at the pronouncement.

Ya continued, "I see she cares what we think. She cares what those around her think. She seeks accommodation when she could just as easily impose order. She cares. The Realm never did."

Huain sat back in his chair thoughtfully. Behind Ranma she could hear Lily chuckle softly. "An insightful daughter you have there Sung Huain." She said.

"She has always seen more than myself or her mother." Huain said softly, drawing a blush from the girl. "Very well. My daughter has seen truth before that I failed to. I will follow her advice in this manner, but that does not mean that I will ask nothing for my support. I must think of my family." He looked up at his daughter, "For they are most important to me."

"Father." Her blush redoubled.

"Well then." Staedtler chuckled. "I suppose it's a good thing we were already prepared to offer quite a bit."

"And what is it you offer?" Huain asked.

"Without the Thousand Scales in place keeping the nation organized is going to be next to impossible." Staedtler said, "For an interim period we were thinking of a group of governors who would help organize their areas until a more permanent organization could be set up."

"We were thinking you might agree to be our governor of the north." Ranma said, leaning forward eagerly. This had proven to be simpler than she had feared.

"What areas would that include?" He asked.

"It would include the Canal, Mountain, and Briarwood districts would fall under the northern auspices." Staedtler said, "The east would take Brownclay and Sweetrose, while the south would have Saadhill and River."

Huain nodded and looked to his wife. They had what seemed to be a silent conversation. Finally he said, "It would seem to be an important post, but what about after it is no longer needed?"

"Assuming you do well," Ranma said, "I'm willing to promise a position at least as important. We're still not sure about how things might be set up. We've only had today to try and get some form of sanity out of this."

"You have a point." Huain stroked his chin. "I agree to those terms." He said, standing and reaching out a hand across the table.

Ranma stood herself and they shook. "Thank you Sung Huain." She said.

"Do not give me reason to regret this." He said before bowing.

"Well." Staedtler said as he struggled to his feet, "Since we now have an agreement we should probably head out and join the masses."

Ranma settled back into her chair. "Have fun." She said.

"Are you not coming your grace?" Sung Ya asked.

"The plan is for Lady Setarial to give her a proper introduction once everyone has arrived." Lily said.

"I see." Ya said. She bowed to Ranma. "Thank you for giving us this chance."

Ranma smiled and stifled a laugh. "Thank you, for giving me a chance." She replied.

The girl blinked and blushed. "Yes, of course your grace." She said before her mother took her by the shoulders and gently steered her out the door, whispering something to her all the while.

Huain looked after her for a moment and sighed before following with an amused shake of his head.

Ranma glanced towards Kodachi who was also shaking her head and trying not to laugh. Then they made eye contact and Kodachi started giggling.

"What?" Ranma asked. Kodachi only giggled harder. The redhead sighed. "Fine, be that way. I'm headed upstairs." She stood up and walked out the door while Kodachi giggled.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Sergeant Ito peered through his binoculars down the road at the warehouse. Getting into position without being spotted had been tricky. Twice they had nearly needed to spill blood, but luck had been on their side. As it was they now had an excellent view of the main street leading through Canal Gate and Nooji Plaza. And the warhouse held by Bengtsson's men happened to be on the Nooji end of that road.

As it was they had counted at least two hundred people arriving, with nearly a quarter as many leaving, since their arrival two hours earlier.

As he watched the two men on guard duty out were huddled under thin blankets as they sat on crates and tried to pretend to keep an eye out. They kept near a lantern on a third pile of crates in some vague attempt to keep warm.

Had they been his soldiers he'd have given them hell for ruining their night vision. As it was he was glad for the incompetence. It made it easier to keep an eye on them.

He keyed his radio, gods he'd hate it when these things ran down, and said, "Sergeant Ito to command, third quarter report."

"This is command. Go ahead Sergeant." Came the voice of one of the corporals.

"Bengtsson's forces are still holed up in-" He stopped as something startled the guards at the door. Shouting from within the warehouse. "Hold one. Something's going on."

"Understood Sergeant."

The closed doors of the warehouse swung open slowly and the shouting grew in volume. He still couldn't quite make it out though. Light and the shadows of men danced in the entrance and a few moments later a mob, for it was too disorganized to call an army, walked out.

He keyed his mic again on a different frequency. "Ito to fireteam. Keep your heads down, they're leaving." A few muttered affirmatives were the only response he got. Good, they were learning.

He keyed the command frequency again. "This is Ito. Bengtsson's men are moving out. They appear incredibly agitated and are chanting something." He said.

"Can you tell us what they're chanting?"

"Negative, too far. Hold one." He said switching to his fireteam. "Does anyone know what they're saying?" He asked.

"It's not just one person talking." Corporal Tatsu said, "It's a mix of chants. They're headed your way though."

"Understood." Ito said as he settled in and tried to stay out of sight. Soon he was rewarded as they mob drew closer.

"...GREYFALLS! NEVER AGAIN WILL WE ACCEPT THE DOMINION OF ANOTHER PEOPLE! THIS LAND, THIS CITY, ALL OF IT IS OURS!" Shouted the lead man, who couldn't have been older than twenty. The men following him were shouting chants with variations of "GREYFALLS" and "FREEDOM".

"THEY SEEK TO SUBORN MY FATHER WHO HAS FOUGHT FOR US! WHAT WILL YOU DO!" The man continued. The mob responded with a single shout of, "FIGHT!"

Ito stared after them as they walked by and swore. He listened to the boy at the lead, obviously Bengtsson's eldest, and it became very clear where they were headed. "Ito to command." He said, "About five hundred men just marched passed me. They're headed for the temple and I think they're out for blood."

"Understood Sergeant." Command responded. "Orders are to shadow them as best you can. Try to track them, but do not get spotted."

"Understood command." Ito said. He was already moving before the orders were given. With all the noise they were making it wouldn't be too hard to keep track of them. "Ito to fireteam shadow them. Do not get caught. Understood?" As his team checked in he noted privately that he probably wasn't going to get the credit he deserved for this.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"They're quite charming for bears." Guon Fan said as she sipped from a glass of red wine.

Kawashima emptied her own, despite it being half filled. "Even so when they asked me to take command of the detachment tonight I wasn't expecting _talking bears_." She said.

"It's hardly the weirdest thing to go through this town." The Guild leader noted.

"Dare I ask?" The Corporal said flatly.

Guon Fan snorted. "We had a sorceress come and insist that she be allowed to bind a demon into the mast of a ship we were building for her family."

Kawashima stared at her before examining her empty wine glass. "I think I'm going to need more of this." She said finally.

"It didn't end that badly. For us anyway." Guon Fan said with a vicious smile. "As I understand the ship sailed great. It followed orders like it was alive. Until the sorceress died and it kept sailing on the last course she gave it. Turns out she didn't trust anyone else to give it orders."

The corporal winced and chuckled. "Poor bastards." She said. That was a terrifying thought. Trapped on a ship with a mind of its own that was determined to follow its last order even if it killed everyone to do so.

"Sailed off the edge of the world, or so the rumours say. Apparently some of the crew managed to bail when it was still in sight of land and made it ashore. Though most people agree they all died shortly thereafter. No one's heard of it since." The Guild leader continued.

"And on that cheery note I'm going to go get something more to drink." Kawashima said ignoring the amused smile Guon Fan hid behind her glass.

"It was nice talking to you." She said as Kawashima beat a retreat.

"To you as well." Kawashima called back over her shoulder. Once she was certain she had lost the guild leader in the crowd she sighed. "Is everyone crazy here?" She asked the empty air.

"No, but some might think you are if you keep talking to no one." Kawashima sighed as Lily slid out of the crowd.

"And now I see you are about. Aren't you supposed to be hanging off our Lady's every word?" She asked pointedly.

"Harsh." Lily said before she held up a second glass of something that looked a bit stronger than wine, "Especially considering I brought drinks."

Kawashima looked at the glass, looked back at her own empty one and set it down on a nearby rock before taking the one the Magistrate was holding out. "Thank you." She said, "How do you people live here?"

"Carefully." Lily replied with amusement. "More seriously there is a reason the Immaculate Order normally regulates the supernatural with such vigilance."

"Demons, Elementals, and bears; oh my." Kawashima muttered.

"I'm sorry?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

The corporal sighed. "Just a reference to a bit of popular fiction back home." She said.

"Ah." Lily sipped from her wine as looked about. "More people than I had expected.

"Really? She did say she'd get about five hundred." She pointed out.

"At the most." Lily reminded. "I was expecting half that. It seems the Realm was less popular than I realized."

"More likely people are more opportunistic than you gave them credit for." Kawashima countered before taking a drink from the glass. She sighed at the taste of rum. "Aaah, much better."

Lily chuckled. "You seemed the sort to appreciate something other than sour grapes." She said.

"Where did you find this?" She asked curiously. She hadn't seen anything other than wine in the gazebos.

"I asked the bears." Said Lily.

Kawashima paused and looked at the glass carefully before shrugging and taking another drink of it to the chuckles of her drinking partner. At least the bears had good taste.

"I would have thought the two of you would have better taste." Kawashima turned to see Kodachi join them. The younger woman looked a touch frazzled.

"You okay girl?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Kodachi said as she tried in vain to brush her hair back into place with her hand. "A few too many people in the Gazebos though. You might need to go over and institute a bit of order because its getting impossible to get to the food and drinks."

"And you haven't tried to wave down one of the servants?" Lily asked.

"I haven't been able to find them." Kodachi admitted.

Lily sighed and waved her hand in the air. A few moments a young woman with blue hair, brown skin, and solid blue eyes slid out from the crowd with a platter of hors d'oeuvres. "You waved milady." She said, her words echoing like they were spoken from underwater.

"My friend has been trying to find you and yours without success." Lily said dryly as the two Japanese women stared at the spirit.

"Our apologies." The spirit bowed her head and offered the platter to Kodachi. "Take what you desire milady."

The younger woman grabbed a few items from the platter as Kawashima stared at it. One of the three types of appetizers looked like cheese and crackers, but the rest… Honestly this sort of thing was well outside her realm of experience.

"Thank you." Kodachi said with a slight bow.

"It is our pleasure milady Zenith." The spirit said before disappearing back into the crowds.

Kawashima stared after her for a moment before taking another long drink from her glass. "How do you live here again?" She asked.

Lily sipped her drink. "By abusing the advantages of being Exalted." She replied with a smirk.

"Corporal." Kawashima growled as private Harada appeared out of the crowd.

"Now what?" She asked the ceiling with surprising vitriol.

Harada blinked. "Ma'am?" She asked.

Kawashima pinched her nose and tried to tune out the giggles of the Magistrate. "Never mind Harada. What is it?" She asked.

"Message from command, they're on the move and they're coming here." Harada said.

The three women stilled. "By they, do you mean Bengtsson's men?" Kodachi asked quietly.

"Affirmative." Harada said.

"Shit, how long?" Kawashima asked.

"Unknown. We were informed the moment they started moving. Not even five minutes ago." Harada said.

"I'll inform Setarial. We need to start moving things up." Lily said finishing her glass.

"I'll inform Ranma." Kodachi said as she hurriedly popped the last appetizer into her mouth.

"And I'll go talk with command." Kawashima sighed and finished her drink.

The other two women disappeared back into the crowd leaving her with the private. She stared contemplatively at the glass. "Ma'am?" Harada prodded.

"We're going to stop by the bears. I want to ask them where they got that drink." She told her subordinate.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma turned over the blade for the thirtieth time since she had sat down at the vanity. It was a beautiful weapon. The blade itself was free of even the least decoration, but the hilt and guard were absolutely bedecked with intricate carvings with a single open space in the pommel like a large gem had fallen out. She ran her hand over the depression and withdrew it with a hiss of pain as something sparked.

She examined her finger. A thin layer of ice was melting quickly, but didn't seem to leave any more damage behind. She sighed and slid the weapon back into its sheath.

It was a beautiful weapon, but there was just one issue. It was a sword, and she was not a sword person. She was trained to use swords, just as she was trained with any other weapon her father could lay hands on, but she had never been fond of them. Unlike a spear, or staff, or even a club there was no way to really moderate a strike from one. Oh sure you could hit with the back or side of the blade, but then you might as well get a staff and use that since at least it was designed with that in mind.

It was a beautiful weapon, but it would never see use in her hands.

The door swung open without warning. "Ranma," Kodachi began.

"Catch." Ranma said as she threw the sheathed blade to the other woman.

Kodachi squeaked but caught the sword. "What are you doing?" She demanded with some of her normal vigour, "You don't go throwing swords at people!"

"Don't act like it was drawn." Ranma said as she leaned against the vanity trying to stifle a giggle.

Kodachi pouted and sighed. "Still don't throw priceless weapons around." She scolded.

Ranma shrugged. "Won't do it again. It's yours now anyway." She said. Kodachi probably had training with swords, right?

"Good, now-" Kodachi paused, "What?" Her look of confusion sent Ranma over the edge into a genuine fit of giggles.

"Why?" Kodachi asked again as Ranma settled down.

"Never going to use it." Ranma said with a shrug, "Besides, Setarial gave me something else magical so it's not like I need another magic toy." A vague sense of being offended wafted from her clothes. She patted it idly with a brush of ki and it settled down.

Kodachi stared at her before looking down at the blade. Carefully she unsheathed it and looked it over. The awe on her face was plain to see. "I- I don't know what to say." The Zenith said quietly.

"Then don't." Ranma shrugged. "We can talk about whether you want to attune it or not later."

"What?" Kodachi looked at her.

"If you want to use it as more than a sharp paper weight you need to attune it. You need to put part of your ki into it." Ranma waved her hand vaguely. "Sorta. The words don't really line up right."

"And, you've done this before?" Kodachi asked as she sheathed the blade.

"Did it with this." Ranma said plucking at her shirt and pants.

"That's magic?" Kodachi asked.

"It used to be dress."

"Oh." Kodachi looked at the blade contemplatively for a moment before shaking her head. "As much I'd like to know more we don't really have time."

"Only takes few minutes." Ranma said.

"There's an army coming." Kodachi said. Ranma blinked, then her eyes narrowed.

"Bengtsson's men?" She asked. They had expected some sort of action, but they'd hoped that he would have more sense then Staedtler gave him credit for.

"Yes. Kawashima is learning more right now." Kodachi said.

"I'll get ready for my moment then. No idea how long?" She asked turning the possibilities over in her mind. It was risky sending an army, even a small one, to a place he was in. Unless he planned to put on an act of talking them down just to look good? Risky though, if emotions flared too high then they might not listen to him. Or was this not under his control? Had his grip on them already slipped?

"They're coming from Nooji, but I don't know how long a walk that is." Kodachi said with a frown.

"It's a new city. We'll just have to hope we have time for our little show." Ranma said as she stood and swept out of the room.

Kodachi fell in behind her. "Should I go ask the corporal what is happening?" She asked.

"Get her to come fill me in once she's done. Then find Bengtsson and keep an eye on him." Ranma ordered, "If he does something strange do what you think is right, just don't attack him unless you have to."

"I'd like to think I know better now." Kodachi said quietly.

Ranma paused on the steps and looked back to Kodachi. "If you don't want to do it, you don't have to." She said gently.

Kodachi bit her lip and looked down at the floor. They stood there for a long moment before Ranma sighed and started down the stairs. Kodachi followed her quickly. As they reached the bottom she spoke, "I'll do it."

"You don't-" Ranma started.

"I said I'll do it. So I will." Kodachi said firmly, though to Ranma she looked nervous enough to blow over with a stiff wind.

"Let Magistrate Whitemane know what you're doing at least." Ranma said.

Kodachi sighed. "Very well." She said before heading off down the hall ahead of Ranma.

Ranma stared after her for a few moments. She sighed again herself. "She has way too many issues." Ranma said to herself before heading for the door.

At the exit one of the JGSDF soldiers was leaning against the wall. She straightened at Ranma's approach.

"Lady Castellan." The girl said, and she really seemed more like a girl than a woman with the nervous way she handled her rifle. "I'm here to tell you when to head out."

"Figured as much. Going to be soon?" Ranma asked.

"Hopefully." The girl said with a nervous shrug.

Ranma sighed and settled in to wait.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Despite the unusual nature of the greeters the party was turning out to be a remarkably pleasant affair. There was plenty of appetizers make the rounds served by a very exotic mix of spirits, most if not all of whom seemed to be beautiful women.

Bengtsson had yet to find the band that was playing the music, but they had to be around somewhere. Their music was very soothing. It almost made dealing with some of the more annoying merchants and landowners bearable. Almost.

He sipped the wine in his glass carefully. It was a very good vintage, but the last thing he could afford was to become unduly intoxicated. Especially since things seemed to finally be picking up.

He swirled the wine in his glass and sniffed it slowly to conceal a glance about the garden. From his vantage point near the outside edge of the garden he could, despite being surrounded by many of his more wealthy supporters, keep an eye on things thanks to his natural height.

There had been a lot of movement involving the guards for the last few minutes and given the quiet conversation he had spotted Setarial having with that Realm magistrate (what was she still doing here?) he suspected that the evenings events were coming to a head.

"With the departure of the Realm, Gehard," One of his supporters said. What was his name? Won Su, Su Wong? Irrelevant. "The lands near Three Pine Hill will be unmanaged now."

"But not uninhabited." Another pointed out.

"Irrelevant." Son Wung? Said. "Tenant farmers are tenant farmers. They need a strong hand overseeing them to keep them from just doing whatever."

"Whatever indeed." The second snarked, "I suppose you believe you would be best to manage them?"

"Of course."

Gehard pushed their argument out of his consciousness as he tracked the movements of their Hostess. The Goddess was moving towards the pagoda, the only truly high point in the garden. His eyes narrowed. It was the only high point and thus the best place to address a group of this size. She was going to speak.

He needed to get over there.

"Gehard, what do you think?" The direct question brought him out of his thoughts as his two supporters looked to him.

He glanced at both of them and quickly reviewed what he remembered of their discussion. Something about the Three Pine Hill estates? "I think," He said, "That this is a discussion for another time when we have a chance to go into more detail. I believe our Hostess is about to address everyone."

Both of his supporters turned to look as he pointed, politely, to the pagoda. With them suitably distracted he made his escape and scooped his wife and son out of another nearby huddle of supporters before dragging, leading, them through the crowd.

"Really Gehard." His wife said as he finally reached the edge of the crowd nearest the pagoda. "Would it have killed you to give a little more warning?" She asked.

He grunted and ignored her huff. She'd get over it, she always got over it. His son remained silent as he looked about.

" _LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF GREYFALLS, MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION_." Setarial shouted from her place at the top of the pagoda steps. The crowds quieted and began to congregate towards the pagoda. As the press of bodies drew closer Bengtsson was pleased to note that his actions had managed to get them far closer than they otherwise would be.

"Thank you for your attention." Setarial said in a quieter, but still loud, voice as the crowd fell silent. "I'm sure all of you are aware of at least some of the events of the last twenty-four hours. The departure of the Realm garrison and administration was not a subtle affair." Murmurs of agreement spread through the crowd.

"Nor was the battle last night on Garrison Heights." She continued, getting more nods from the crowd. "These were but some of the events that either occured, or were learned of over the last day. We find ourselves at a crossroads now. Adrift without the guides we have relied upon to help manage our nation since its very inception. Without the Realm, what is the future of Greyfalls?"

The crowd was nearly silent as her speech continued. "But let us not get ahead, first you must know what has occured. So please, I beg of you. Bear with me while I share the events of last night, and steps I have already taken to ensure our safe and prosperous future."

Gehard frowned. That, that was ominous. What deals had she already made? His eyes focused on the brownish blonde with the strange firewand standing next to the Goddess. Had she already sold them out to a foreign power? Had she done this just to keep him from the crown? Goddess or not he would not be deterred.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kawashima had been by a few minutes after Kodachi left. Apparently the 'army' was more of an armed mob with Bengtsson's eldest son at its head. Which probably made it twice as dangerous and half a predictable. _Just wonderful_.

Still it meant that this might not be Bengtsson's plan, which meant he wouldn't be prepared to counter it. She could use that. It just required her to work the crowd…

To do that though would require her to step up her acting. Overacting was not going to cut it for this. She had to do more than just 'be cute' or 'give them what they want'. She couldn't rely on tricks she knew never worked anyway.

"They're starting." Yori said.

Ranma nodded and sighed. She stood straighter and breathed deeply. She needed to be better than she had been. She needed to be creative, to be ruthless, and more importantly she needed to be observant. She couldn't let someone like Nabiki just run over her with words. If she did that was it.

"Any moment now." Yori said.

Ranma stepped up to the door. She needed to be better than before. That was it really. Just, better. Better speaker, better actor, better leader. And she would be, was, better than before. Even she could tell, ever since the night before things were just...easier. They made more sense and came to her almost unbidden.

"Whenever you're ready." Yori said, stepping aside.

Steeling herself Ranma strode forward, casting the double doors wide open as she strode out into the sunlit garden.

"...Lady Saotome Ranma. She has agreed to take over rulership of Greyfalls with my blessing," Setarial was saying as five hundred eyes affixed themselves to Ranma. "And has taken the title of Castellan to reflect that this is a duty she undertakes only at my request."

Setarial turned from the crowd and bowed to Ranma. A few shocked gasps could be heard in the crowd, but for the most part they were silent. Watching, judging. Ranma came up to Setarial. "Stand." She told the Goddess. She hated formality like this.

The Goddess rose with a smile. Before either of them could say another word a tall blonde man forced his way out of the crowd.

"Again!" He shouted striding up to the base of the stairs. "No sooner does the Realm leave then you ask use to prostitute our freedom to more outsiders." He turned to the crowds. "Greyfalls is a nation we built, why must we hand off its administration off to others."

"You are as selectively deaf as ever Bengtsson." Staedtler barked as he stepped out from the far side of the crowd. "Did you not hear of what comes for us? An army from Vaneha comes to burn our city."

"So they say." Bengtsson declared, his posture the definition of indignant self-righteousness. "We only have their word."

"Choose your words wisely." Setarial warned, "It sounds to me as though you doubt the honesty of myself and my servants."

Bengtsson stilled for a moment, but pressed on regardless. "With the greatest respect your eminence." He said, bowing to the Goddess. "You are but one source, and even the greatest can make mistakes."

"Your tongue is as poisonous as ever." Sung Huain challenged, stepping out beside Staedtler. A ripple went through the cloud at the sight of the two men who climbed the steps together to stand with the rest of them. "Those you challenge are above rapprochement from one as lowly as you. You are little more than a thug, seeking power without regard for cost."

"Of course you would take her side. You are but her lapdog after all." Gehard said dismissively, "Open your eyes to the good of Greyfalls-"

Sung snarled. "You speak of the good of Greyfalls! I know what planned for my daughter Bengtsson." He snapped, one hand raised in the air. "You stand here pretending to have the best interests of our nation in mind, and yet even this afternoon you plotted to kidnap my daughter to blackmail me." Gasps rang out through the crowd.

Bengtsson scowled. "I do not know where you heard such rumours." He said, "But I would never order the kidnapping of a child."

"Then the kidnapping of a young woman is a better thing?" Staedtler said. He rapped his cane on the marble tiles loudly. "You stand here throwing stones while living in a house of glass Bengtsson." He lifted his cane and pointed it at Ranma.

She raised one eyebrow bemusedly. She had barely needed to say a word so far, quite unlike her expectations. Still, she would need to speak eventually.

"I have spoken with the Lady Castellan. We spent hours today speaking on as many matters as we could fit into the time we had. I can attest to her. She is rough, aye, but she is also young and brimming with potential." He turned to Ranma and went to one knee with a grunt. "I, Staedtler William of Greyfalls, do offer my loyalty to Castellan Saotome Ranma of Greyfalls for so long as I live, or until she sees fit to release me."

Ranma blinked. If the previous actions had sent rippples through the crowd this had nearly knocked them off their feet.

"Don't be daft Staedtler." Bengtsson shouted.

"I may be getting on in year boy." Staedtler snarled, "But I am not daft. Milady, do you accept?" He asked, bowing his head to her as well.

Ranma stepped up. This was not the exact plan, not that they'd had much time to make an 'exact' plan, but Zeriah had prepared a few oaths. "Do you swear to uphold the laws and standards of my realm?" She asked.

"I do." The merchant said.

"Do you swear to act with honour in all your dealing, in my behalf and in your own life?"

Bengtsson was staring. Most of the crowd was staring.

"I do."

"Do you swear to devote yourself in whole to the peace and prosperity of Greyfalls?"

"I do."

Ranma smiled and extended a hand to him. "Then rise, Lord Staedtler William, Duke of Greyfalls." She said.

He took her hand and allowed her to pull him to his feet. "Duke?" He asked.

She smirked. "Well someone needs to be responsible for the city." She said glibly.

He chuckled.

"This is absurd." Bengtsson shouted and a few of his supporters pushed through the crowd to join him. "She's a foreigner. We just got rid of one group of overlords, we do not need another!"

Ranma's smile dimmed as she turned to him. Embracing the soul of ice ever so slightly she faced him. "Funny how you call me an overlord given your own plans." She said. The crowd, which had been getting rowdy still as she spoke, their attention focusing on her once again.

"My plans were made to liberate this city from oppression." He replied.

"Really?" She sniffed and took a step forward. His entire entourage took two steps back leaving him alone on the stairs. "You amassed weapons, entire warehouses full."

"To arm a rebellion, and I wasn't the only one. Sung has a warehouse full as well." Bengtsson shouted as he stood his ground.

"But unlike you when I forced the Legion out of the city Sung sought to ensure the safety of his family first." She said, taking another step forward. Ice formed instantly around her feet and a light began to flicker on her forehead. "You started building an army from the malcontent and disillusioned. He looked to family. You looked for the crown."

Another step.

Bengtsson backed up. "I came here under the impression that this to discuss the future of Greyfalls." He said. Ranma's eyes narrowed and he swallowed nervously.

"You say that, but I have to wonder." She said raising a hand to point back through the temple towards the city. "We have reports of a mob coming from your warehouse. They are marching here."

"What?" He gasped.

She tilted her head and smiled coldly. "Didn't you know?" She asked mockingly in an imitation of Nabiki's usual drawl. "Your eldest is leading them here. I can think of two options. Either you planned to hold all of us at sword point until you were made leader."

"I would never." He challenged, taking a step forward.

"Then the only other option is that you have created a mob and lost control of it. Putting everyone here in danger with your recklessness." She said before chuckling and letting go of the soul of ice. She turned away. "Or you would have if they were any threat.

"There were at least four hundred men who swore to answer my call." He protested, "How can you call that anything but a threat. You don't even have twenty guards here!"

"You don't do math very well do you?" A woman from the crowd challenged.

He rounded on the crowd. "So the shipwhore shows her face." He snarled, "I'm surprised you have the nerve to show here of all places."

"Ha!" Guon Fan laughed as she stepped into the open area around the stairs. Despite being dressed quite elegantly in a black strapless dress it was clear the woman was more suited to life on the docks from the scars crisscrossing the left side of her face and the large, and very open, bottle of wine she had in one hand. "Got my job back the moment the dynasts decided to go back to fucking each other on their pretty little island. Has nothing to do with the fact you still can't count."

"By the dragons would you make sense woman." He snapped.

Guon fan sighed and corked her bottle after another swing. "There were over three thousand soldiers in the city last night." She said, "Far as I can tell they only had two intruders last night. Well, two up in the fortress. Now, not all of them were up there, but even taking patrols into account. We're looking at, what? Two thousand, plus the largest number of dragonblooded we've had in the city in my lifetime?"

"Your point." He growled.

"My point is she's here, they ain't. Which means she and one other guy beat the shit out of an army that makes your pathetic mob look like a bunch of angry children. By themselves." Bengtsson went very, very still. Guon Fan pulled the cork back out of the bottle with her mouth and spat it into her free palm before taking another swing. "Anyone who can do that is grand in my books. We might even have a chance against the Vanehans, sooo~" The Guild leader drawled before raising her wine bottle in mock salute to Ranma. "Hail to the Que- no, your a Castellan right? Hail to the Castellan! LONG MAY SHE RULE! HAHAHA!"

Ranma stared at the guild leader with a mixture of incredulity and bemusement. Just another weird person in her weird life. She looked over to Setarial who seemed to be getting more exasperated the long things went. The feeling seemed to grow as a few people started shouting the same thing. Before long most of the crowd was cheering.

"Not exactly what we planned." Ranma commented to the Goddess.

"No." Setarial sighed. "It does, however, work."

Ranma looked over to Bengtsson who seemed to be, himself, looking around with dismay. This was obviously not how he had planned on things going. Now she was about to make his evening worse.

She held up a hand and the crowd quieted. "Bengtsson Gehard." She said, drawing his attention back to her. "By your action there is a mob moving through my city." It felt strange to say that. Her city. It was true though, Greyfalls was her responsibility.

"That was not my intention." He said.

She shrugged. "It's still what happened." She said, "I find myself having to make a decision I don't like."

"Excuse me if I don't feel pity for you." Gehard said blithely.

"Maybe you should. Corporal Kawashima. Arrest him." She ordered. The response from Kawashima and her fireteam was immediate. Kawashima moved from her place at the top of the stair to grappling with Bengtsson in the blink of an eye and moments later he was on the ground at the base of the stairs with his hands cuffed behind him.

"A-arresting your opposition!" He gasped, "No better than the Dynasts!"

"Did you really think I was just going to ignore your plan to kidnap Sung Ya?" Ranma asked him blandly. Though he wasn't entirely wrong. As much as he was actually guilty of crimes doing this right now was as much about getting him out of the way as it was actually dealing out justice.

"So, urh." He grunted as Kawashima jerked him to his feet. What supporters he had seemed to have vanished into the crowd. "What now?"

Ranma walked down the steps until she was able to look at him without looking down. "Now you will be taken up to Garrison Heights. There you will be kept in a cell until we can arrange a proper trial. At which point you will be tried, probably convicted and sentenced. Not to death mind you, but labour or prison time is likely."

He growled at went to spit at her. Her hand came up and slapped him across the side of the head hard enough that he was left blinking stars from his vision. "Should I get him out of here?" Kawashima asked.

"Take him to the trucks. Don't take him up quite yet though." She glared at him. "I'm sure he'd like to share the ride with his son."

"M-my son. Don't you dare." He tried to growl, but given the way he stumbled over the words Ranma had to wonder if she'd accidentally concussed him. Oops.

"May want to get the medic to check him over as well." She added.

The Corporal snorted and made for the door. The crowd parted instinctively to let the soldier and prisoner through.

Ranma watched them go before sighing. She waved to the crowd. "This has turned out to be a bit more exciting than I had expected." She said to them. A nervous titter ran through the crowd.

"Indeed." Setarial said walking down to join her. One of her hands rested on Ranma's shoulder. "This was not how we wished to handle this."

"Unfortunately we're not finished quite yet." Ranma said, causing more nervous murmurs in the crowd. She refrained from rolling her eyes yet again. "Nothing more like that. I am going to go and deal with oncoming mob myself. I'll be coming back afterwards." Relieved sighs could be heard from a few people, probably those who had supported Bengtsson.

"Indeed, tonight is as much an introduction of our Lady Castellan as it is a party celebrating the departure of the Realm." Setarial said before raising her hands and clapping twice. The doors of the pagoda and temple swung open and more of her servants appeared hauling additional tables and chairs. Others carried large platters and bowls of a wide array of foods. "We still have a meal and this evening's entertainment to make it through. So please, enjoy the food, enjoy the music, and enjoy the rest of your evening. Though we will have to ask you to stay at least until we can confirm the riot has been handled."

Ranma stepped forward. "Which would be my cue." She said. The crowd parted and Kodachi fell in next to her as she walked down the path. Curious eyes followed her as she walked.

"I think you did well." Kodachi said as they left the crowd behind.

Ranma snorted. "At least they aren't calling for my head." She replied.

"Which would be doing well." Kodachi said with a side glance at her.

They stopped at the entrance to the temple. "Can you try and keep a tab on things until I get back?" She asked.

"Of course Ranma." Kodachi said, bowing. Ranma stifled a groan.

"Don't bow." She complained. She only received a giggle in response. She sighed. "Be that way." She most-definitely-did-not-pout, before leaving the garden and her giggling… friend? Behind.

-0-0-0-0-0-

As Ranma walked down the outside steps of the temple she was met by Private Harada.

"Lady Castellan." She said as she approached.

"How far?" Ranma asked, studiously ignoring the 'lady' as she had the rest of the evening.

"Just came into sight." She said as they crossed the courtyard to the bridge. "A few have broken off, but they're still nearly five hundred."

"Don't these things normally grow?" Ranma asked. At mobs tended to get bigger before spontaneously collapsing in her experience.

"Normally yes, however Bengtsson does not seem to have been the most popular of figures in the city, and since they're doing it in his name…"

"Ah." That would explain a bit of it.

"We've had the coaches clear out for a bit while we deal with this." Harada continued.

They rounded the corner of the bridge and Ranma was finally able to spot the mob in the distance. She could tell they were a ragged bunch even in the poor lighting of the street. Their armour and weapons were brand new and in decent condition from what she could tell, but they weren't soldiers. They didn't march or even try to keep some semblance of formation. They were, at best, well armed thugs who had been stirred up into looking for a fight.

"They don't look that tough." Ranma said to Harada.

"There are a lot of them though." The private noted.

Ranma snorted at that. "Right. Let's go with that. Stay here." She said and started off across the bridge. She ignored the soldier's protests with a cheery wave.

Ranma stopped at the end the bridge and looked around. The northern edges of High Quarter and Alder Plaza ended in sheer cliffs that fell down to the backside of Mist-Town. A road ran along the cliff and it was in the intersection of that road and the main street leading to the temple that Ranma found herself. It was perfect for dealing with them without having to worry about them accidentally setting the bridge on fire with a fallen torch or lantern.

Humming a cheery tune she folded her arms behind her back walked out into the middle of the dark streets. Where she waited as the mob came closer.

At some point along they had, finally, noticed her and come to a stop a few dozen feet in front. They milled about a bit, apparently, somehow, uncertain of what they were supposed to do now that they had run into someone.

"I'm looking for Bengtsson's son!" Ranma shouted.

A tall blonde man with long hair, a nice set of chainmail and a sword at his hip stepped up. "I'm Bengtsson Karl." He said.

Ranma smirked. "Great, now I just need you to turn yourself in and the rest of your friends to disperse." She said cheerily. She made a shooing gesture towards the mob like it was pile of unruly puppies and not a large group of armed and angry men. Not that there was much of a difference. Actually, the puppies would probably have been a tougher challenge, after all it was hard to fight puppies without hurting them and hurting a puppy just made people think you were evil. Or possessed. Or both.

"Excuse me?" Karl said.

"Have you gone deaf from all the chanting?" She asked, rocking on her heels. "You're under arrest."

"I head you fine the first time." He looked over his shoulder. "HEY! APPARENTLY WE'RE UNDER ARREST!" He shouted. Raucous cheers met his announcement. He turned back to her chuckling as the mob started moving up. He looked her up and down. "Tell you what little lady, give me a kiss and I won't hand you over to them." He said.

Ranma sighed overdramatically. "Your father was smarter you know." She said, keeping the same cheery tone.

The man's eyes narrowed and a hand went to the hilt of his sword. "What was that about my father girl?" He demanded.

Ranma's smile widened. "Your father has already been rounded up for conspiracy, and you're to join him in a moment." She said.

"You're going to tel-" His blade was barely an inch out of its sheathe when her open palm slammed into his stomach. He was doubled over retching before she hit a couple of pressure points along his back he hit the ground limp and groaning.

The group behind him paused momentarily as she stepped over his body. She ignored his complaining, he wouldn't be able to move for a couple hours at least.

"The hell did you do to him." One of the others shouted. The foremost group leveled their weapons on her. A motley mixture of swords, spears, and other weapons.

"Pressure points." She said lightly, "He'll be down for an hour at least. Unless you want to join him you should leave. Oh, and return the weapons. We're going to need them later."

A few near the back seemed to understand what she was saying as they took off back down the street, a few of them throwing down their weapons as they ran. Unfortunately most of them seemed too drunk or hyped up to listen to reason.

"Just one girl." A fat man said, "One, little girl. Come on, we can take her."

"That little girl just laid Karl out." Another, much younger, man pointed out as he stared at her down the length of a spear.

"And I'll lay you out unless you run." Ranma repeated, idly examining her hands and nails. They stood there neither side moving for a minute before she sighed. "Look, if you don't have the balls to just one little girl." She placed emphasis on the last two words, "Then you may as well run home."

The fat man snarled and charged at her with his mace held high. She stepped aside and jabbed a few pressure points on his back faster than the eye could track. He tripped over his non-functional legs and fell flat onto Karl, who squawked as at least two hundred pounds landed on his back.

Still it was the signal to the rest to do something, anything. Some men threw down their weapons and fled, others charged forward screaming. The first group of spears came down and she dodged them by jumping just high enough to clear the pointy shafts of wood before landing on the one held by the somewhat more observant of the second pair of men.

The sight of her standing on the spear like she weighed nothing caused more than a few minds to freeze up. Many of those men also threw down their weapons and took flight. The boy who was holding the spear was, unfortunately for him, not able to join them due to the foot Ranma had planted in his chest as she stole his spear.

Spinning her stolen weapon with skill borne of long practice she disarmed a half dozen men in the first three seconds before knocking them and their closest neighbours, another fifteen men, unconscious by the simple expedient of striking them over the head with the blunt end of the spear.

The rest of the fight lasted only a few more minutes before the 'survivors' broke and ran. Their weapons clattered off the pavement as they ran, and more than a few tripped on a discarded spear or sword on their way out.

As Ranma knocked out the last stubborn man with the butt of her spear applause broke out and she looked up to see Sergeant Ito walking out of a nearby sidestreet clapping. Next to him was a particularly pale looking young private.

"And that, Private Tanaka, is why we do not taunt the Martial Artists." Sergeant Ito said to the private.

"Understood sir." The young man said.

Ranma chuckled let the spear clatter to the pavement. She idly checked her hands. Not a single drop of blood, not that much had been shed to begin with, or sign of dirt. Actually she still felt like she'd just had bath. Apparently the magic necklace actually worked as advertised.

"Sergeant Ito." She greeted him cheerily.

"Castellan." He acknowledged grudgingly as he looked over the nearly two hundred unconscious or 'paralyzed' bodies. "Not bad."

"They aren't soldiers." Ranma said, poking one of them with the toe of her white slippers.

"True." He allowed, "But we've been keeping an eye on them all evening. We were starting to think we'd have to shoot them."

"Managed to get things dealt with in time." Ranma shrugged.

"And? How did it go?" He asked.

Ranma wiggled a hand vaguely in the air. "Alright? Not the best. Bengtsson the elder didn't give me another option than getting him out of the way. Not sure how well it went over with some people." She said with a sigh. "I hate politics."

He chuckled. "I suppose we can agree on that anyway. You heading back?" He asked, looking towards the temple.

"Should be." She said following his gaze.

"We'll call for some back up and get these guys sorted then." Ito said.

Ranma sighed. "Back to politics it is then." She sighed dramatically, earning a very much not sympathetic chuckle from the sergeant before she left.

As she crossed the bridge she let Harada know it was clear before proceeding into the temple.

She didn't make it more than a dozen feet into the garden before Kodachi showed up with a plate of food. The rest of that evening was spent trying to learn the art of politics, or at least the art as it applied to a group of nervous men and women mostly twice her age...

That and trying to avoid Guon Fan who seemed to have decided that Ranma needed to loosen up and she was the best one to show her how. With copious amounts of wine.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Well that went well." Ryu said as he looked at the battle strewn intersection. Watching Ranma take apart a few hundred grown men without a scratch had been a sight.

Ryouga sighed. "Not worth the wait." He groused.

Ryu shot him a look. He glanced down at where Ryouga's hands had been gripping the stonework. Two handprints more than two inches deep into the stonework could be seen.

"Not worth it, huh." He mused as he lowered his binoculars.

"Not in the least." Ryouga agreed as he picked up his lantern and started down the staircase. Ryu watched him go for a moment before picking up his own, much shorter, candle and following.

Well one thing was clear to him. Whatever relationship those two had was a lot more complicated than he'd be able to understand in a day.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Later that night Ranma shut the door to her new bedroom with a sigh. It was well past midnight and she wanted nothing more than to sleep. Convincing the twins who were still assigned by the Lady Bretegani to her that they didn't need to strip her down and wash her _again_ was another thing entirely. Eventually they had relented to the explanation of ' _mysterious exalted magic_ '.

She walked over to the window of her room and looked out. Her room faced north, unfortunately, and the only thing she could see was the back courtyard of the palace and the fortress wall. A pity. Of course it also meant that she probably wasn't going to be woken up by the sun, so that was nice.

She yawned and prodded _Meru's Wind_ with her ki. Her shirt and pants shifted into a loose fitting tank top and shorts. A very expensive and extravagant tank top and shorts, but it was good enough for her.

She flopped onto the bed and sighed luxuriantly it was a very nice bed. She was asleep within minutes.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: … …

This fought me way more than it should have, but I've managed to finish it. Some areas, like the bears and Guon Fan, wrote themselves. Others took quite of bit or writing and rewriting to just find the right words.

It was also nice to write a fight scene even if it was so short. Still chapter eight is done, and with it Act One of Book One. I hope you enjoyed it.


	9. Chapter 9 First Steps of Broken Fate

The sound of steels boots marching in time down cobbled streets was almost comforting to Sergeant Ragara Lockler after the maddening events of the last day. It was something normal instead of the constant bombardment of strange and alien magics.

"Scale, halt." He shouted. The twenty-four other men of his unit, all of whom had been pulled from the healthy members of Sergeant Taylor's garrison, came to a stop in front of the gate of their latest target.

The leader of the four-man team JGSDF soldiers attached to them walked over and rapped on the mon emblazoned in the middle of the half-open gate. "Looks like they were in a hurry." She said as she looked at the trail of abandoned bags, crates, and boxes that strewn the short path from the gate to the front door of the large Alder Plaza mansion.

"Just like the rest." Lockler agreed as he walked up to join her. His team was one of three that had been tasked with clearing the homes of the Realm Dynasts for habitation. And also to dissuade possible looters from trying to raid the homes for whatever valuables they could find. Not even the gods knew what madness the Dragon-Blooded had kept in their homes.

His team had started their job shortly after the event at the temple had wrapped up. Clearing dark hallways and room in the middle of the night was not fun, especially with the occasional booby-trap thrown in. That was why they had the JGSDF assigned to them. To them though, not in charge of them. Not yet anyway. It was odd being in charge of the Dragon-Blooded, even new ones, but he was sure in time he'd be taking orders from them. Almost normal, if he ignored the Solar sitting on the throne above.

"Well, we should get started." His JGSDF liaison said.

He sighed. At least the sun had finally risen. "Yes we should." He agreed. "Wei, Zuo, take point." He waved his men forward. As they rushed the doors he had to admit, it might have been his first day under the new administration, but it really wasn't that different so far.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter Nine

First Steps of Broken Fate

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0

The day had dawned earlier than Ranma would have liked after the late party of the night before. Still at least she wasn't nursing a headache like her black haired friend sitting beside her.

"I am never drinking again." Kodachi groaned into her tea.

"I've heard that before." Ranma said as she munched on a slice of toasted bread and cheese. She glanced around the room, at the other occupants. Unlike the day before this meeting was far less informal than the whole presentation in the throne room. Formerly a sitting room just down the hall from he quarters the servants had managed to bring in a large round oak table that now dominated the room. Said table was covered in several large, and surprisingly accurate, maps. Maps around which Ryu, Akiyama and Zeriah were talking in low hushed tones. Ryouga sat nearby, half-listening at best with his eyes closed. He seemed bored.

"Not from me." Kodachi muttered as she nibbled her own bread.

"Still heard it before." The new Castellan shrugged before taking a spoon of the soup that made up the other half of her breakfast. If there was one benefit to being Castellan, she mused, it was the food.

Someone knocked on the door. Kodachi winced in time with each strike. A moment later the door cracked open and one of the soldiers outside stuck her head in. "Governor Sung and Duke Staedtler are here Lady Castellan." She said.

Ranma buried a twitch at her title. "Send them in." She said. As the door swung open to admit the two older men a breeze swept the room, ruffling the papers on the table.

Staedtler and Sung both bowed as they entered. "Lady Castellan." Sung intoned politely.

She waved for them both to rise. "Good morning you two. Sleep well?" She asked.

Staedtler snorted as he sat down at the table. "Barely slept at all." He grumbled, and he did look quite tired. "No sooner than I got home than messengers from half the city's merchants started showing up. Hadn't even taken six hours before they started trying to curry favour."

Zeriah looked up from the maps. "What exactly were they asking?" He asked.

"Not asking. Offering. Mostly." The old merchant sighed. "Most of the messages I received here offers of assistance. A lot of them were from old associates of Bengtsson."

"Rats fleeing the sinking ship." Sung said with a sigh. "I also spent the night entertaining visitors, though most were looking to me for reassurance and guidance."

Ranma set down her spoon. "Sounds like we have a lot to deal with." She said, glancing out the window. She could just see over the inner wall into the gravel yard that made up most of the interior of the fortress. She could see a few JSDF soldiers going over the vehicles that had followed them from Japan. On the walls a few former Realm Legionnaires were patrolling.

"We have more to deal with than we have the manpower to handle." Ryu said as he tapped the maps in front of him. "Take a look."

Ranma rose from her chair and walked around the table to look down at the maps from the correct angle. Everyone in the room, sans Kodachi who was still nursing her head, gathered around.

Most of the map was taken up by a very large map of the city. All the major avenues, side streets, squares, and markets were marked; though Ranma couldn't read the Realm symbols they were written in. Small annotations had, however, been made in Japanese. The papers beside the maps had a very abbreviated listing of assignments by group.

"Sergeant Taylor managed to find a few maps in the keep." Ryu said as she looked it over. "As you can see we put last night's other plans into effect. All gates on the main roads inside the city and on the outer walls are now guarded, though it's barely enough to count as a picket line. The best they'll be able to do is shut the gates if something happens."

"All we really need at the moment." Ranma said as she looked over the map, matching assignments to locations.

"Between that, holding the warehouses in the docks, and the sweeps of the Dynastic holdings we're stretched to the limit." Ryu replied. He ran a hand through his hair. "If something happens we'll lose what little control we've already established."

"It would depend on the happening, would it not?" Sung said, examining the map upside down.

"If there's another riot-" Ryu began.

"We'll deal with it." Ranma said, "This is nothing we weren't expecting." She sighed heavily. "Setarial will be going around the city later to try and drum up support from the populace directly. Are you ready to receive any volunteers she manages to convince?"

"We've set up a tent at the main gate of the fortress." Akiyama said, "We're ready on that front at least."

"It would be easier to deal with this if most of the administration hadn't jumped ship." Staedtler groused.

"Is there a City Council of some kind?" Ranma asked the Duke.

The older man shook his head. "Nothing worth the name. Even them I think most have left with the Realm." He said.

"Then that's what I need you to deal with." Ranma said, turning the situation over in her head. There was too much for them to handle as a whole, so perhaps it was time to split the work. "You've had people coming to you already. Figure out which ones can be trusted, and reach out to others if you can't find enough. Get an interim City Council together. Their job is going to be making sure we have food, water, and preparations for dealing with fire and disease." Which would take a lot of the burden off Ryu.

"I can think of a few names already." Staedtler mused, running one hand along his chin. "Would you like us to also try and encourage volunteers for the militia?"

"If you don't find it too much." Ranma nodded.

"On that note." Ryu said, cutting in, "As much as I would like to build an army out of volunteers realistically we aren't going to be able to get enough people to man the walls. We have days, a week and a bit at most, before Vaneha arrives. If we want to be in a position to stand our ground we need to start training immediately."

Everyone around Ranma nodded their understanding, and she had to suppress a sigh. It was the truth after all. The army coming their way numbered at least ten thousand, potentially more. Confronting it would require at least half as many men just to man the wide walls of the city.

"If we don't have enough volunteers by noon tomorrow we'll have this new council start informing anyone over the age of…" She frowned. What age would be appropriate?

"Fourteen?" Staedtler suggested. At the looks he received from the Japanese contingent he raised an eyebrow. "Too young for you?" He asked.

"Much." Akiyama said shortly, "I'd suggest eighteen and up. Old enough to know a bit about what they're getting into, and in the prime of youth so they're fit enough for it as well. Upper end should be fifty-five. We'll try and sort the upper and lower ends of that into support roles, but it should catch anyone fit enough to use a sword. We'll need to run a medical assessment on them as well."

"Do we have the time for that?" Ryu asked.

"For a very basic one. Such as do they have four limbs and are they strong enough to lift a sword or spear." His Sergeant said, "We don't have the time to train anyone who can't manage that."

"Right." Ranma sighed and ran a hand through her hair. The chain in her braid jingled softly. "If they can lift a sword and run in armour they're in." She glanced up at both of them. "That goes for anyone who shows up. Race or gender. We don't have the time or luxury to be picky. I don't care if they show up with blue skin. If they meet the requirements they're in."

"Understood." Akiyama nodded.

"Now about the warehouses." A knock interrupted Ranma before she could continue. The door opened and Lily entered, the protests of the soldier outside were ignored.

"We have a problem." She said, taking a seat at the table.

Ryouga opened his eyes and sat up. "More bad news?" He asked, stifling a yawn.

"Of course." Ranma sighed. They hadn't even started dealing with the issues of today and more were already cropping up. "What is it Lily?" She asked the former Magistrate.

"A report just arrived from Sergeant Ragara." Lily said, "His scale has discovered something disturbing at the Cynis household."

Staedtler groaned. "Of course its House Cynis." He muttered.

Ranma glanced at him. "House Cynis?" She asked.

Zeriah answered. "House Cynis are one of the great houses of the Realm. They're famous for their wild parties, and for their control of the slave trade on the Blessed Isle." He paused as the temperature dropped several degrees.

"Slave Trade." Ranma repeated calmly. Slaves, of course there were slaves.

"I'd like to say I was surprised, but…" Sergeant Akiyama sighed. "The Realm is like Rome, or ancient China."

"Built as much by slaves labour as by brilliant minds." Ryu agreed.

"You take issue with Slaves Lady Castellan?" Sung asked. His tone was curious.

Ranma fixed the older man with a stare that could potentially strip paint from a wall. "Slavery hasn't been practiced where we come from in decades." She said, "I'm not about to allow the practice here."

Staedtler and Sung both nodded. "It speaks well of you." The Duke said, "most nations use at least some of it. The City-State of Great Forks practically runs on it."

"Great Forks is a City of unchecked Gods and their worshipers." Lily said blandly, "What else would you expect?"

"You are from the Realm." Staedtler reminded her with just as deadpan a tone.

"And you are not the first to notice the hypocrisy Duke Staedtler." Zeriah said calmly, shooting a look at Lily who shrugged unrepentantly. "As important as this matter is we have strayed from the present topic. Lily, if you would continue?" Ranma let him change the topic, but she would be coming back to it.

"Yes, well." Lily sighed. "The building first appeared to have just been ransacked, not unusual given the nature of the departure. However as they explored the building they discovered a number of dead bodies. According to Sergeant Ragara none of them have quote: 'so much as a papercut and everyone appears as though they've been drained of all fluids and left in the sun for weeks, sans two.'. End quote."

"That is disturbing." Ranma said.

"What about the two others?" Zeriah asked.

"Dead in the center courtyard." Lily replied, "One appears to have been a woman still in her youth, the other was someone a number of us have passing familiarity with."

"Who?" Staedtler asked.

"Dragonlord Mnemon." Lily said. At Ranma's blank look she added, "The man you blasted out the side of the keep and through the outer wall of the fortress. I gave you his sword yesterday."

"Oh." Ranma's eyes went to the blade sitting in its scabbard next to Kodachi. That guy.

"I guess we know where he landed then." Ryouga said dryly.

"Sergeant Ragara said it appears that he had hit the woman on his way down." Lily added. Ryouga stared at her for a moment before turning his surprised look on Ranma. She stared back just as surprised.

"That's… a first." Ranma said, digesting the fact that she may have just killed someone incidentally.

"There's more." Lily said gently, "It would appear that the woman was casting a spell of some sort at the time. Sergeant Ragara asks that we send someone familiar with the occult to investigate."

Ranma found a chair and sat down heavily. This was… "Magic." She muttered, "Why is it always magic."

"We're lucky I guess." Ryouga deadpanned. Ranma rolled her eyes half-heartedly at the morbid humour.

"Do we have anyone to send?" Ryu asked, looking around at the rest of the room.

"Myself or Lily have experience." Zeriah said, "Lady Setarial or Leitleen would as well."

Staedtler rapped his cane against the table, drawing eyes towards him. "Well it's clear something happened." He said, "Lady Castellan, this is the sort of thing that needs to be investigated at once." All eyes swung back to her.

"I know." She sighed. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "Zeriah, have you recovered?"

The large man tested his leg and prodded himself in the chest a couple of times before answering. "I'm better than yesterday to be sure, but you did put me through a support pillar." He replied.

"Right." That really only left one option. She turned to the other magistrate in the room. "Lily, I guess your heading down then. Ryouga do you mind going with her in case?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Gives me something to do other than play nurse." He said. She saw through the attempt at bravado. He was about as enthusiastic at the idea of dealing with more magic as she was.

"I should be fine by my own." Lily said.

"We have no idea what this sorceress was doing." Ranma said, "And we need Sergeant Ragara's team to get moving again. Ryu you'll need to find some people to secure the building while they investigate."

"I'll pull the fireteam off Ragara's patrol." The Lieutenant said.

"Great. The two of you should get going then." Ranma said, giving her rival and the Magistrate a hard look. The Magistrate flinched and hastily made for the door. Following behind her at a more sedate pace Ryouga ignored the look. Once they were gone Ranma groaned. "We did not need more things to mess with us right now." She said.

"I just had a thought." Kodachi said, lifting her head to look at them.

"What kind of thought?" Ranma asked, her mind still churning out an infinite array of disturbing magic-related scenarios.

"About the manpower issue." The black haired girl said, rubbing her forehead and wincing.

Happy for a change of subject Ranma prodded her. "And your idea is?" She asked.

"You remember we have over two hundred other people from Japan right?" Kodachi asked.

Everyone looked at her.

"They're civilians." Ryu said after a long moment. "We aren't suppose to-"

"Ask them. It's not like we're expecting to be home tomorrow." Kodachi said, "They need something to do."

Something occurred to Ranma. She looked up at Ryu. "Have you… Told them anything about what's happened?" She asked.

Ryu blinked. "Well…" He glanced to Akiyama.

"Not to my knowledge sir." The Sergeant said.

"Well… fuck." Ryu muttered.

"Another thing to deal with." Ranma sighed. "Ideas?"

"Lunch is coming up in a couple hours." Staedtler suggested after a minute of silence. "You could go and speak with them yourself during lunch."

She smiled. "It did work with you." She said.

He chuckled. "It was more than the food, but in my experience a shared meal does help ease the awkwardness." He said.

"I'll make the arrangements after we're done here then." Ranma sighed before looking up at Ryu. "You are coming with me."

"Excuse me?" He said.

"Your in charge of the JSDF. I bet they'll at least be willing to hear you out." She said.

"I suppose they probably will." He agreed after a moment. "Akiyama can cover for me for lunch at least."

"Great. Now about the slaves." She turned her attention on the three Creationborn men. "You said Slavery is common in Creation?"

"Some places more so than others." Staedtler said after a few moments. "Greyfalls has very limited slavery due to the limited influence of House Cynis and the general prohibition against the Guild outside of the City itself. If there are more than ten thousand in the entire nation I would honestly be surprised."

"I think you definition of limited could do with an adjustment." Ryu said before Ranma could respond.

Staedtler shook his head. "The primary use of slaves is either labour or pleasure." He said, "Labour slaves are always in demand due to large dynast funded projects like roads, canals, or new manses. That said most of the time the government took the opportunity to inject money into the local economy before resorting to slaves to make up the difference. On the other end of the spectrum pleasure slaves are usually more expensive than simply going to a brothel, or so I've been told. I've never had either the need or desire to visit such locations in the past."

"Used to cater to specific tastes I'd imagine." Akiyama said grimly.

The Duke nodded. "Most likely. Dynasts, even the unexalted ones, tend towards extravagant tastes." He said. He paused for a moment before continuing. "Allow me to make myself clear on this matter. I have never utilized slaves, nor has anyone in my family to my knowledge. Leaving aside the matter of the moral repugnancy of slavery it is a trade that invites risk and derision while giving little in return."

"I cannot say the same unfortunately." Sung said. Eyes in the room went towards the Governor. "Neither I nor my family have ever owned slaves, however we have contracted work from those who did." The man bowed his head to Ranma. "If this offends your sensibilities Lady Castellan then I apologize. I cannot change the past."

Ranma frowned at him. Her fingers drummed the table for a few moments. The room was silent as she considered the soft spoken man before her. "It's in the past." She said after a moment. "Write up a list of the companies and people known to have used slave labour in the past. Both of you. We'll deal with this mess properly once we've dealt with the current threat…"

"What about the slaves in the city?" Kodachi asked.

Staedtler turned to her. "Held in Cynis holdings on the eastern end of High Quarter. Near the gates I believe." He said, "Shouldn't be too many. Most slaves are used in labour on large projects throughout the country so the holding areas here are mostly temporary housing for slaves enroute to other projects."

"Ryu can you get someone to check on them?" Ranma asked, rubbing her forehead. She felt like this should be causing her a headache.

"I'll see who I can free up." The Lieutenant said as he considered the map in front of them.

"Now, let's get back on track." Ranma tapped the map in front of her. "These warehouses. How long is it going to take to empty them?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kiku was bored. She should not have been bored, not after the last day of running through fields and forests before being brought up to an actual palace. An _actual_ _Palace_ , like one out of a story book. Sorta. The city around it was rather dirty, but you couldn't have everything, right? Still she'd have thought that there would be something to keep her interesting even at the temple they had been put up in overnight.

She had thought that the night before. Of course the temple was empty of any monks or even many decorations. It had running water, which seemed to surprise everyone else, and it was warm inside. Not that being warm helped with her boredom. She'd much rather be cold and not bored than locked up in this temple and warm.

So it was that she was wandering the halls of the temple after breakfast, which had been brought by the palace staff, and wishing for something to happen. Not that she was the only one doing that. She'd overheard more than a few people who seemed to be going as stir-crazy as she was. They all wanted to be doing something rather than just sitting around waiting for the JSDF to bring news or whatever.

That girl, Hikari, and her brother had been having an argument in one of the room she had passed. The boy, who didn't seem quite… all there to Kiku, had insisted this was some kind of Government cover-up and they were just being held for execution or testing, or alien abduction. Honestly he seemed like he had watched too much anime.

Kiku sigh as she turned a corner to find, "Yet another dead end." She deadpanned to the deserted hallway. Still there were a few doors down the hall so she might as well investigate. Maybe there was something that could alleviate her boredom for a few minutes.

As she walked down the hall, peeking into rooms as she went (all of them were storerooms), she could hear something in the distance. She frowned. It sounded like that sound that happened when you dropped a knife on tile, or accidentally dropped a knife on a knife. It was the sound of ringing metal, and it was coming from the last door in the hallway.

The sound wasn't one long continuous note, it was periodic with silence filling most of the time. The sound grew louder as she approached, and then entered, the last doorway. It was another storeroom with barrels and crates labelled in that strange language that wasn't Japanese, despite looking like it should be. At the far side of the room, unlike the other storerooms, there was a door through which she could hear the ring of metal on metal.

Ever curious Kiku walked over and pushed the door open just enough to peak through. A breeze that was both cold and warm smacked her in the face and she shivered. The room she could see was filled with tables piled with tools, hammers and other strange items. Other objects, maybe more tools, were hanging on the wall nearby.

She couldn't, however, see the source of the noise. Carefully she pushed the door further open and poked her head into the room. Finally she spotted the source.

Standing next to a large stone furnace, which was glowing brightly, was a young woman maybe only a few years older than her. She was wearing a heavy leather apron over a tank top and jeans. In her hands she held a hammer and a pair of tongs that were themselves holding a brightly glowing piece of metal that was being hammered into shape. Her long hair was pulled up into a bun that was pinned in place by what appeared to be a thin rod of metal.

Absently she noted that the far wall of the room was missing, leading out into the gardens that surrounded the temple.

As Kiku watched the young woman brought the hammer bar of metal, producing a loud clang that faded into a high pitched ring. It was… Loud. Very loud. Almost painfully loud.

The woman examined the glowing bar of metal for a moment before striking it with the hammer a few more times, by which point the glow was beginning to fade. She lifted it from the anvil and carefully placed it in the furnace.

Then she turned to look at Kiku. "You can come out. It's not that cold." She said. Her accent was odd, foreign probably. Not that she looked all that foreign. Her skin tone was a bit light, but she looked Japanese to Kiku.

Kiku stepped out from behind the door. It was warm.. ish. Sorta. At least it wasn't cold enough to make her shiver. "Hello." She said, smiling broadly.

"Hello there." The woman said smiling back before prodding the bar in the furnace into a better spot. "Sorry I didn't say anything earlier. Blacksmithing takes a lot of focus at times."

Kiku's head tilted to one side. "Why are you blacksmithing?" She asked.

"Trying to make tools." Was the reply she received as the woman prodded the metal bar again.

Kiku looked around the smithy. Tools lay on tables, hung from hooks, leaned against the wall. "Uuuummm…" She said.

The woman giggled. "Modern tools. Like a lathe for example. Of course as good as these tools are I still need more appropriate ones." She said.

"What's a Lathe?" Kiku asked.

"A tool used to precision machining." The woman said, "It's basically a fixed drill used for cutting metal. Like when you want to make a screw, or cut a plate of metal to perfectly fit a hole." She picked up a hammer. "I could use this to hammer a plate to fit, but if I did the edges wouldn't fit exactly. If I used it for making a steam engine, for example, the pressure could escape easily. Where as if I had used a lathe I could cut it to exactly the size I need without worrying about the uneven patterns a hammer can make."

"Oh." That seemed important, but… "Why are you making one?" It did seem like a lot of work.

"Because I checked the vehicles that we came here in. No sign of anything more useful than a set of pliers." She sighed and Kiku wandered a bit closer. It was a lot warmer nearer the furnace. "And if I'm right we're going to need one. Probably more, but I'll settle for one at the moment."

"You think so?" Kiku asked.

"We're a long way from home. At the least the JSDF is going to need new barrels for those guns, and probably new bullets as well come to think of it. When I found the smithy I figured I may as well get a jump on the problem. Better than just sitting around all day brooding." The woman said. She prodded the metal bar with the tongs. "Temperature is falling." She muttered before moving over to a set of bellows attached to the furnace.

Kiku stepped back and watched as the woman set to working building the flames inside the furnace back up. It seemed like a lot of work, especially for one person. She blinked. Well she was bored, sooo… "Do you need a hand?" She asked.

The woman glanced over her shoulder at Kiku. "You ever done something like this before?" She asked.

Kiku shook her head. "No, but I can learn." She said.

The woman gave the bellows one more careful squeeze before checking the flames. She nodded satisfactorily before turning to Kiku. "Well I could use a couple more hands, for holding things in place if nothing else. There's a couple more aprons around here. If you can find one that'll fit you I'll let you help." She said.

Kiku beamed and immediately started looking through the smithy.

"Hey." The woman said, "What's your name?"

"Hinagawa Kiku." Kiku replied, "What's yours?"

"You can call me Emily."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Assuming we can get enough carts." Ryu said as he finished his report of the inventorying of the warehouses.

"I can arrange for enough carts and drivers." Staedtler confirmed with a nod. "It might take an hour or two to get them however."

"So long as we can get those weapons up to the armoury before sundown I'll be satisfied." The Lieutenant said.

Ranma's mind wandered as the conversation continued on with specifics that frankly she couldn't bring herself to care for. There had been a lot of that with the warehouse discussion. Then again running a government did require some care for the specifics.

She stifled another irritable sigh and her eyes wandered to the many maps on the table. Until now they had been using the map of the city, but there were other maps. Like the one half buried beneath papers written on with a confusing mixture of Realm and Japanese.

She carefully slipped it out from beneath the other papers and frowned. It was a map of the country and, like the map of Greyfalls itself, had its Realm labels notated with Japanese translations.

She tapped the location of Greyfalls and traced the borders of the nation. Bordered on two sides by the Lesser Rock, the river on which Greyfalls itself sat, and the Rock rivers it was honestly quite defensible. There were only a few crossings labeled, but most were also noted, especially in the case of the Lesser Rock, as being only available in summer. Presumably when the rivers were lower.

Unnoticed by her the rest of the room had fallen silent as she examined the map.

Something about the map was tickling her like something was supposed to be obvious, but she was missing it despite how simple it was supposed to be. Like searching your entire room only to realize what you were looking for was on your bed the entire time. Her finger traced the rivers again and she cocked her head to one side. The Caste Mark on her forehead flickered to life.

"Is something the matter Lady Castellan?" Sung asked.

Ranma didn't even twitch at her title as she focused on the map. Her finger strayed from the river and began following the network of canals. This felt like it should be obvious so why… Then it clicked. She laid the map back on the table.

"We're focusing too much on the City." The Castellan said. Akiyama let out a small "Ah" of realization behind her.

"He is aiming for the city." Kodachi said from her spot near the window. She still looked like death warmed over, but she seemed more cognizant than she had earlier.

"He wants to burn the city down." Ranma agreed, "But you don't fight a war in isolation. This isn't just a battle, it's a campaign."

"The City is, however, the crown of Realm influence in the Thousand Kingdoms." Staedtler pointed out.

"Which is why he'd focusing on it." Ryu said, his own hand tracing roads and canals. "But this is winter, and he's at the end of a very long supply chain."

Sung sat straighter. "He needs to supply himself for a siege." He said thoughtfully.

Ranma tapped the blank area outside Greyfalls borders on the map. "What surrounds Greyfalls?" She asked.

"To the north not much for a few hundred miles." Staedtler said, drumming a finger on his cane. "The east has a couple small kingdoms, nothing larger than ten thousand people total, then nothing until Ixcoatli. The South and the West are much more populated. The Kingdom of Prandar to the west, and the Principality of Almarath in the south are the largest. Neither has much love for Vaneha."

"Would they want Greyfalls gone?" Ranma asked.

The Duke shrugged. "There have been skirmishes in the past, however we do significant trade. Ultimately I suppose it depends on whether or not they believe they are going to get significant gains of territory out of this." He said.

"Or believe they will." Akiyama mused as he dug out another map that showed more of the scavenger kingdoms. The Kingdom of Prandar and Principality of Almarath were clearly marked in the mountainous area to the south and the west of Greyfalls.

"True."

Ranma tapped a couple of towns near the south-western border of Greyfalls. "If we assume that he can't get supply from our neighbours then he's going to need to add to what he's bringing with him somehow." She said.

"Being winter scavenging is nearly impossible for an army that size." Akiyama agreed.

"The harvests has been in for ages by now I bet." Ranma glanced at Sung who nodded. "Then the only good sources of food are going to be the towns, and given he's planning on burning a city to ash I doubt he's going to care too much about being told no."

Ranma traced a road running south from Greyfalls. It hit most of the towns and villages along the way. "Ryu, I know we're stretched thin, but…?" She trailed off, looking at him.

The lieutenant smiled grimly. "What are you thinking?" He asked.

"I need a team, some of the vehicles and as much fuel as we can afford them." Ranma said before turning to Staedtler. "I need someone we can send south that people there will listen to."

Staedtler frowned, as did Sung. The Merchant-Duke looked to the Governor. "Perhaps Blisely?" He suggested.

Sung shook his head. "I do not believe he has much weight in the south anymore. Not after that incident the spring before last." he said.

"I had forgotten about that." Staedtler muttered, "Do you need a suggestion right now Castellan?"

Ranma shook her head. "Not right this second. Get me names for the south and east by this evening. I want to send them out tomorrow morning." She said.

"What are you planning?" Ryu asked.

The Castellan tapped the map, her finger bouncing off an unnamed town. "We're abandoning anything nearby his line of advance. I want those towns emptied. Of people and supplies. If it can't be transported it needs to be burned." She said.

"You can't be serious." Staedtler said before quieting as he saw Zeriah, Ryu and Akiyama all nodding. "You are. Without that food people will starve, and its winter. Travelling now is a terrible idea. Especially for the unprepared."

"And yet it's the best of a bunch of bad options." Akiyama said, "If we don't evacuate the people more will probably die when the Vanehan army comes knocking, and they'll get the food they need to keep going through the winter. If we can get enough people and supplies out of the way before they arrive they'll have to go farther afield to get food for the army."

"Which will leave their scavenging forces vulnerable." Ryu said. He frowned. "I know the Realm forces pulled out of Greyfalls, but what about further afield?"

"The Realm enforced its rule with small garrisons of legionnaires around the country." Sung said, pointing out the markers for small forts across the country. "That said I believe most were drawn down severely if not outright abandoned a month or so ago. The ones in the north were certainly quiet when I travelled here a few weeks ago."

"The local garrisons are the only form of policing outside of the local watches used to enforce the laws in small towns." Staedtler said, "And they were usually appointed to their position for loyalty."

"That's another thing then." Ranma mused as she stared at the map. A plan was beginning to form in her mind. "We've focused on the City, so has Vaneha." She refused to say the title the Vanehan General had, it sounded so stupid. "Most of the nation lives outside the city however."

Her gaze swept across her assembled allies and advisors. "There is more to this place than just a city, and we've been talking as though we need to raise a powerful enough army from here alone. We don't. We just need to hold."

She focused on her new Governor. "Governor Sung." She said, "I need you to head north as soon as possible. I need an army from the north."

The calm man looked down at the map, turning the instructions over in his head before nodding once and meeting her gaze. "It shall be done then."

Ranma smiled then glanced at Ryu. "And I need someone to send as an advisor to help him train them on the march."

"I can spare a someone." He said nodding.

"I assume your thinking the same of the East and South?" Staedtler asked.

She nodded. "Yes, though I would prefer the south to focus on keeping the Vanehan scavengers out of the way." She said, her eyes darting across the map. She reached for and found a ballpoint pen left out by either Akiyama of Ryu. With it she made a few marks on the map. "I need to talk to Setarial. If there are any Gods in the area that might be helpful…" Her lips pursed in thought.

Ryu tapped the map again. "I would like to know what we might expect from each region. Is there things these places are known for?" He asked the locals.

"Well…" Zeriah said leaning forward to look at the map. "Let me see what I can remember…"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Lily had been to the Cynis Household of Greyfalls once before. A small party not long after she had arrived in the Satrapy. Not that they had known she was there of course. Like many other times she had 'been' to a Cynis party she had come and gone in the guise of just one more faceless servant. At the time she hadn't found anything of note, but that had probably just meant whatever dealings the Cynis had were done outside the building.

Judging by the reason for her visit today that suspicious was undoubtedly true.

Dismounting the horse she had brought from the fortress stables she handed the reins to one of the guards outside the gate of the property. As she did so she tried to ignore the way the large wolf that had been following her morphed into the good looking young man who happened to be a Lunar… anathema..

She ignored him as the guards let them in and they walked up to the main doors where Sergeant Ragara stood waiting for them. "Lady Magistrate, Lord Hibiki." The Sergeant bowed to both of them.

She spared a glance for the Lunar next to her and restrained a slight smile at the flummoxed look on his face. She turned back to the Sergeant. "Lockler." She said with a smile, "can you show us to the scene?"

"This way then." The Sergeant lead them into the mansion. "I ordered the bodies left where they were found and any man who touched them isolated in one of the offices just in case." He said as they passed through the spacious entrance hall and into one of the hallways.

"A good idea until we know more. Still something like this is unlikely to be communicateable." Lily said as they passed a closed room whose door was being guarded by two more legionnaires. It was probably the office. "If they don't begin showing any symptoms in the next couple hours they're probably fine."

"No signs yet, so here's to hoping." The Sergeant replied as they reached another doorway, this one was open and spilled out into a courtyard. "Here we are. I'll leave you to it. Just ask if you need anything."

"Hold a moment Sergeant." Lily said as he started off.

He stopped and turned back. "Ma'am?"

"Orders from the Castellan. You are to proceed on with the remainder of your sweep. However the fireteam that the Lieutenant assigned you will be staying behind to keep the place secured." She said.

He nodded and snapped a salute. The metal of his gauntlet clattered off his breastplate. "I'll inform the men… What do you want done with those isolated?" He asked.

"Leave them and two more to keep a watch on them." Lily said after a moment. "If they don't show any signs in a few hours we'll send them on to catch up with you."

"Understood." He replied.

"Dismissed then." Lily said. Lockler snapped a quick salute then left heading back towards the entrance with rather more haste than she suspected was truly necessary.

Lily turned to the courtyard only to find her unwilling companion already outside and looking around. "Be careful." She said as she stepped outside to join him.

"That's why I'm over here." He said dryly, "And not over there." He pointed to center of the courtyard where a distinctly female body lay, her neck twisted at a clearly fatal angle. "Or over there." He pointed to the far corner where another body could be seen.

"Just let me lead. I know what I'm doing." And he certainly didn't. All he did was smirk in a way that made her want to punch him.

Ignoring him she walked to the far body, keeping a fair distance from the body in the center of the courtyard. She knelt beside the body. It was definitely Mnemon. She'd recognized the style of dress, torn and bloodstained as it was. Actually the fabric on one side of his doublette had been bleached white like it had been in the sun for days. Probably a side effect of the blast that had somehow not turned his body to paste. She waved away a few insects that were stubbornly braving the cold to harass the dead body.

"It's him." She said over her shoulder to the Lunar. "We'll need to arrange a proper burial soon. Preferably before his ghost decides to get up and start eating people."

"That can happen?" The Lunar asked.

She looked up at him. "Don't your people have issues with ghosts?" She asked.

"Some I guess. Most of the time we don't, but Ranma and I have run into a few." The Lunar said, scratching his chin in a manner that seemed thoughtful.

"Interesting." She murmured. The idea of a place that had so little issue with ghosts was interesting. Even the Blessed Isle had to be careful, lest they accidentally create a shadowland in the middle of the most prosperous land in Creation. After all you couldn't just wave your hands and undo one of those.

She stood, brushing off her pant legs and walked over to the other body. As she approached the woman's corpse she noticed the pattern on the ground a few feet away. A summoning ritual had been performed there.

Lily scowled at that. Summonings on Calibration were risky. It was easier to summon on those lightless days and mistakes could lead to things far more dangerous than whatever it was you intended to summon showing up instead. Or so she had been told by the many sorcerers she had consulted on such matters in the past.

More condemningly was the line of smudged and erased silver dust and ritual paint that started presumably where the the woman had been struck, and ended where her body lay now. A line that went through the circle twice.

She knelt next to the corpse. She picked up one of the arms and checked the hands. The body was cold, the flesh not quite frozen in the winter temperatures, and yet she had no issues lifting the arm. Strange.

"If the body so much as twitches, crush its head." She told the Lunar.

"Voice of experience?" He asked.

"Unfortunately." She said as she examined the hands. A bloody cut on the hand, probably from where she had shed blood as part of the ritual. That was another indicator that this was a Demon Summoning Ritual rather than an Elemental one. It was a very rare elemental that required blood as part of a ritual of summoning.

She put down the arm and checked the pouches the sorceress was wearing at her hips. Some odd materials, a few not so unusual, and a small book. She glanced at it. It looked like one of those trashy and torrid novels that had so much local popularity. She flipped it open to a random page, read three lines, and shut it again. Definitely one of those. She slid it back into the pouch it came from.

Sometimes there was no accounting for taste.

She spent a few more minutes with the body before the Lunar spoke again. "This smells odd." He said.

"Of course it does." She replied and glanced at him. Of all the-

"No, as in it smells smells odd." He said, tapping his nose.

She blinked. "What?" She asked.

"Ever since I got here my sense of smell has gotten a lot better." He said, "And while that guy in the corner smells like blood, insects, and, well, a rotting corpse. This one… Doesn't really smell like anything." He sniffed exaggeratedly and promptly sneezed, fortunately onto something other than her or the body.

Still he had a point. The other body was swarming with flies despite the time of year, and yet this one… She looked around, paying careful attention this time. There wasn't a single insect within ten feet of her. Of the body.

Reaching into the bag that hung from the back of her belt she pulled out a pad and her case with her brush and ink. She stood and walked around the body to get a better look at the ritual markings. Taking her brush and ink she began to draw.

She paused and glanced over to the Lunar. "This is going to take me a bit. Would you mind checking on the Legionnaires that Lockler isolated?" She asked.

He looked around the yard. "And if something jumps you?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." She said, "However if something does show I'll be sure to scream in a terrified a manner as I can manage." Yes her sarcasm could strip paint at a hundred meters, what of it?

"Don't come back from the dead and complain about it then." He snarked before leaving her to her work.

She sighed. Really what was the Castellan thinking sending him with her. A Lunar… Even if they weren't actually anathema they were still brutish and wild. Completely unsuited for an investigation.

Sighing a second time she set it from her mind and got to work drawing what remained of the diagram. Perhaps with some time and luck she could figure out just what the Sorceress had been summoning.

In a corner of that courtyard the shadows flickered, growing darker, before vanishing entirely.

Whitemane Lily continued drawing, oblivious.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The meeting was over, finally, and everyone except Kodachi had left to carry out her… her orders. Ranma rested her head on her hands. She was a martial artist not a ruler. Giving orders and having people actually follow them was strange. Very strange.

"Are you alright?" Kodachi asked. Ranma looked up at her. The Kuno girl was looking better than she had at the beginning of the day, though it was in that 'I'm half alive, please don't make loud noises' kind of way.

"Are you sure you're the one to ask that?" Ranma quipped.

Kodachi waved her off with a mock imperious look that was ruined by her wincing when she looked out the window. "I'm fiiine." She said in a tone that fooled neither of them. "You however…" Kodachi trailed off, looking her in the eye.

Ranma rolled her eyes and sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Just wondering if I'm doing this right." She said after a minute.

Kodachi tilted her head thoughtfully. "I think you're doing fine. It's only the first morning Ranma, don't be too hard on yourself." She smiled wanly. "You're certainly doing better than I would have."

Ranma looked down at the table. The maps of Greyfalls and the surrounding kingdoms stared back. "You sure about that?" She asked.

"I am."

Ranma picked up one of the coins they were using to mark places on the map. She balanced it on her finger, spinning it on its edge as she did so. "If I get this wrong a lot of people die." She said.

"If you get it right a lot of people are going to die as well." Kodachi replied. "It is war."

Her finger twitched and she caught the coin. "I know."

Kodachi stood up, wobbling a bit from her hangover, and walked over. She sat down in the chair next to Ranma and laid one hand on top of Ranma's. They sat like that for a minute before Ranma rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Okay, I get it." She groaned. "You're here to help, so is everyone else. Blah blah, mushy stuff." She stuck her tongue out.

Kodachi giggled, laughed, then winced. "Please don't make me laugh." She whimpered.

"How much did you drink anyway?" Ranma asked, taking the chance to stretch.

Kodachi's eyes became unfocused. "I lost count after Guon Fan handed me a third bottle." She said distantly.

The redhead shook her head and tried to fight off a smile. "That is one strange lady." She said.

"Not a lady." Kodachi said firmly, coming back to the present. "Might be a Pirate Queen in disguise, but not a Lady."

Ranma chuckled. "Let's go see when they're serving lunch. Are you going to come with me to the temple?" She asked.

"We'll see." Kodachi hedged. Ranma smirked at the way she shot a worried look out the window. That was why she took time to avoid Guon Fan after the first run in. She hated hangovers.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Water hissed and steamed, sending clouds whirling through the smithy, as Emily quenched a glowing piece of metal the size of Kiku's forearm into a trough next to the anvil. After a few moments she lifted it out and placed it on the anvil. Steam billowed from the metal.

"So what's this piece for anyway?" Kiku asked.

Emily shucked the heavy leather gloves she was wearing and cracked her knuckles before stretching. "Well it's part of a support. Some of the parts are going to need to be made from better metal than I've been able to find so far. This thing is going to be part of what's going to be a small bessemer converter." At Kiku's blank look she added, "It's used to turn iron into steel quickly."

"Oh." Kiku reached out and tapped it with a gloved hand. It tinged as it bounced off the anvil surface. "Is it supposed to be bent that way?"

Emily frowned and leaned over. "No, its not." She sighed. "The metal warped. Damn it."

"If you wouldn't mind not cursing around my daughter." Both Emily and Kiku jumped in surprise and whirled to face the door. Standing in the door was Kiku's mother, her arms folded and that look that Miyu recognized as the one that usually came before getting in trouble.

"Mom." Kiku said nervously, how did her mother always sneak up on her? "Hi? Oh, this is Emily." Distraction!

Emily bowed. "It is nice to meet you Mrs. Hinagawa." She said.

Miyu smiled and bowed. "And it is nice to meet you." She said, "Your name is foreign." She added after a moment.

"Yes." Emily said carefully. Kiku blinked, so what if her name was foreign? "Winegate Emily is my full name. My father and I are American. We were just flying into Tokyo International to visit my grandparents when… Well one second sitting in a plane, next second sitting under a tree. At night."

Miyu chuckled. "I meant nothing by it Emily." She said shaking her head softly before frowning. "So you have no family here?"

Emily shook her head. "Not that I can see."

Miyu hmmed thoughtfully. "Well." She said, "Lunch will be served shortly. Since you have made the acquaintance of my daughter, perhaps you wouldn't mind sitting with us?"

"She can?" Kiku smiled and turned to her. "Please say yes!"

Emily smiled and giggled. "Well if you insist." She said to Kiku.

"Yes!" Kiku fistpumped.

"Shall we then?" Miyu gestured to the door that lead back into the temple.

Emily looked about. "Can I have a moment to put a few things back where I found them?" She asked as she took off the leather apron.

"Of course. Kiku, do help her." Miyu said.

Kiku nodded and started to help clear the mess they'd made… Well the mess they'd added to anyway. The Smithy was something of a disaster area with more tools than places to put them. There also seemed to be a few half-finished projects just lying on tables taking up space.

Still it only took them a couple minutes to get everything back where they'd found it. Then the two of them were following her mother back into the temple.

"So, what led to my daughter helping you?" Miyu asked

"She needed help." Kiku said.

Emily shrugged. "She was there and seemed interested. I figured it was probably better than having her run around bored." She said.

"Hmm." Miyu nodded, "How old are you Emily?"

"Eighteen." So she was only a few years old than Kiku. Cool.

Her mother nodded, as if expecting that answer. "You would be in your last year of High School then?" She asked.

"Fourth year at MIT actually." Emily said, smirking at the surprised look the two had. "Bachelor of Sciences with a Major in Polymer Sciences."

"Wow." Kiku said. She had issues just getting her high school math homework done… It as really boring after all.

Miyu nodded. "Yes, very impressive. You graduated at fourteen?" She asked.

"Thirteen actually." Which was the same age as Kiku. The young girl pouted at that thought. Really how did you manage to graduate from _high school_ that quickly?

"Your parents must have been proud." Miyu said as they turned the corner leading into a barren hallway that had probably once been adorned with banners, wall hangings, and other religious artifacts.

"Surprised actually." Emily snickered, "My father thought I was getting a bit ahead of myself. I think he was proud afterwards, but it was a bit hard to tell through the shock."

Kiku's mother concealed her own snickers behind her hand. "I see." She said.

The conversation continued for the next minute or so it took them to reach the high-vaulted hall were the food would be served.

Kiku made it three steps into the room before she stumbled to a stop, nearly getting run over by both her mother and Emily. She didn't notice. Her attention was on the redhead at the far end of the room. She was talking with a few people, but they didn't matter to Kiku.

"Is something the matter?" Her mother asked before following the gaze of her daughter. "Oh, I see." She sighed.

"What?" Emily asked.

"My daughter has a bit of, shall we say, hero worship for the redhead." Miyu said with another fond sigh.

"It's not hero worship." Kiku insisted, "She's amazing." Her eyes didn't leave the redhead, instead they were tracking the sway of her braid as she turned from one person to another. Was it sparkling now? It was, and it just seemed so pretty. "She can leap buildings and throw fireballs."

Behind her Emily looked askance to Miyu. "Is she an actress?" She asked.

Miyu shook her head. "No. Just a very skilled martial artist who lives in the same area we do." The patted her daughter on the head. "Now remember what I said about bothering her."

Kiku pouted. "But-"

"No." Her mother said in that tone of voice that somehow managed to keep her from doing something she shouldn't… most of the time.

"Fine." She pouted.

"Why don't we find some seats. Kiku if you would please find some." Miyu instructed her daughter.

"Fiiiine." She pouted and headed off to the table, occasionally shooting starstruck glances towards the redhead at the far end of the room.

"She has an active imagination." Emily observed.

"Hardly." Miyu said as they followed her daughter from a distance. "As I understand it Ranma is a master of Ki. It allows for some impressive, and truly superhuman, feats." She smiled mysteriously at the sceptical look Emily had. "It may seem impossible, but so is what has happened to us."

Emily sighed and nodded. "Touché." She said, "Keeping an open mind is probably the best thing at the moment anyway."

"Don't be too open." Miyu cautioned, "Just accepting things as they appear can have issues."

"I know. Trust me, I know." Emily smiled regretfully.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The Immaculate Temple was a very impressive building. Three stories tall with an enclosed garden surrounding the main structure that itself had several small towers that decorated its corners, and all of it constructed from intricately carved and detailed marble or oak. Tile murals decorated walls and statues lion-dogs and warrior monks lined the path from the gate to the temple.

Even the dining hall, with five long tables and a small one at the head, was just as richly decorated. The ceiling was a kaleidoscope of colours, with numerous dragons, gods and men locked in either dance or war far above the main floor. Pillars reaching from the floor to ceiling were styled as serpentine dragons coiling about each other. It was, to Ranma, as impressive a sight as any buddhist or shinto temple she had seen in her years of traveling Japan and China.

Ranma stood in the doorway, admiring the room for a few moments as servants carrying platters streamed through the door, parting around her. They headed straight for the center table and began unloading their burden onto it. Wheels of cheese were laid down next to fresh baked bread and entire platters of smoked meats that ranged from ham to salmon.

Ranma had to step aside as a large pot, heavy enough to need two men to carry it, came through. Noticing her one of the men said, "Today's soup, Lady Castellan. Potato and leek soup. Filling and perfect for a cold day like today." She had never had leek before, and potatoes weren't something normally served in japan. It smelled tasty if nothing else.

"Hello there." Said a voice behind her in thickly accented Japanese.

Ranma turned to around. The speaker was a woman nearly a foot taller than her who stood straight and tall despite looking nearly as old as Cologne. Her hair was a faded grey-blonde and if Ranma had to make a guess as to her nationality the best she could make would be European. "Hello." Ranma said.

"These men called you, Lady Castellan yes?" The old woman asked.

"They did." Ranma confirmed.

The old woman smiled. "Well it is nice to finally meet someone important around here." She said.

"Um." Ranma said awkwardly, "I'm actually from Japan."

The old woman raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then I take it we aren't the first this has…" She trailed off, frowning as Ranma shook her head. "No. Well I imagine the story of how someone so young got such a title in little more than a day to be quite exciting."

"It involved a lot more talking than you might think." Ranma replied, thinking back to the seemingly endless meetings she had been stuck in for the last twenty-four hours. Even the party had been little more than a really fancy meeting.

The old woman snorted. "Doesn't it always." She held out a hand. "Doctor Elina Zutter, or I suppose you would say it Zutter Elina. I work, or worked for the Red Cross in Geneva. Or worked as it may be." She shrugged.

Ranma shook her hand. "Saotome Ranma." She said, "New Castellan of Greyfalls. As of last night."

"And how does someone manage that?" Elina asked.

Ranma couldn't help but blush and toy with her braid. "Accidental conquest?" She ventured, only to see the old woman's eyebrows go up further before the she shook her head.

"Well I see that we missed quite a bit during our little adventure." Elina sighed.

The clunk of military boots announced the arrival of Ryu. "Ranma." He said, bowing his head slightly.

"Lieutenant." Ranma smirked, "Meeting Dr. Zutter Elina. Of the Red Cross…" She paused and looked back to the old woman. "You said Geneva?"

"Yes." Elina said, smiling, well it was more of smirk than a smile. "I was in my office in Geneva, working late as it was. Then I was in the forest feeling like I'd just tried to swallow a flat G. The musical note I mean. A very odd experience I'm not entirely sure how to describe."

"Well your Japanese is very good." Ryu said. Ranma rolled her eyes. Of course he focused on the less important detail, rather than the fact she came from the other side of earth from Japan.

"It has proven simple to pick up. Certainly the quickest I've ever learned a new language." Elina deferred.

Ranma blinked. Something about that sounded odd… "When did you start learning Japanese?" She asked carefully.

"Shortly after my arrival in that forest." She said conversationally. Ryu stared at her.

"Exaltation…" Ranma sighed, "The more I hear the less I believe." She had tried learning other languages before. It was not easy, in fact she had issues with Japanese still and she had grown up with it.

"Oh." Ryu mouthed quietly.

"Exaltation?" Elina asked, her eyes narrowing.

"One of the things we need to explain. Just a question, did you find yourself glowing when you arrived?" Ranma asked, already sure of the answer.

The old woman nodded. "Yes. I was glowing green. It felt… Well I've experience quite a bit in my seventy-two years, but I've never felt like I was burning within without… burning up works as well as anything. To be honest I've felt better than I have in decades. Is all of this connected to whatever Exaltation is?" She asked.

Ranma and Ryu shared a glance. "Well we are here to talk about that anyway." He noted.

"Can you wait a few minutes?" Ranma asked, "The plan was to tell everyone at once and-"

"You would rather not repeat. I understand." Elina said holding up a hand. "That said, perhaps while we're waiting you wouldn't mind indulging an old woman with tales of the last few days? I assume you were planning on sitting at the head table, so perhaps we can have this discussion there?"

"I'll go and make sure people know that lunch is being served." Ryu said, ducking out of the conversation quicker than was polite.

Ranma stared after him before snorting with contempt. "Soldier my ass." She muttered, drawing a snicker from Elina.

"Young men can be quite flighty dear." Eilina said, "They usually get better with age… Sometimes.. If you're lucky."

Ranma absorbed that remark and then quietly banished it from her mind. She did not need _boy advice_ , not when she actually was one. Erghl. "Anyway." She said, pretending to not hear the snickers of the old woman, "The table is over there, so let's go."

It was no surprise to her that the old woman matched her quick walk step for step as she made for the head table. As they approached the table she spotted Zeriah being helped into a chair by a servant. He looked up as a servant pulled a seat out for Ranma and another for Elina.

"Lady Castellan." The Magistrate bowed in his seat. She waved him off as she settled into her chair. Beside her the old woman settled into her own chair, thanking the servant as she did.

"I'm surprised you were willing to come this far." She said.

He chuckled. "Not much of a choice really. Lily is occupied so I have to do this." He said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" She prodded.

"There are things about the second-breath that only another Dragon-blooded can explain." He replied.

"That would be about this Exaltation thing, correct?" Elina asked, leaning forward to look passed Ranma.

"Yes it is." Zeriah said, looking back at her.

Ranma leaned back in her chair to let them see eachother better. "I could move if you need." She offered.

"Not an issue." Elina waved her off.

"Indeed it is not." Zeriah said, smiling. "I am Ragara Zeriah. A magistrate formerly in the service of the Scarlet Throne."

"I am Doctor Zutter Elina. Currently of the Red Cross." She paused, "In theory at least. The current situation is rather unprecedented."

"So I gather." He said.

A servant stopped by and asked for their preferences for food. Evidently being either old or in charge exonerated you from fetching your own food. The three placed their requests and the servant shuffled off. Ranma would have been lying if she claimed to not enjoy the service.

"From your introduction I assume you are a local, unlike the young Castellan here?" Elina asked.

Zeriah chuckled. "You would be correct." He reached into the heavy robes he was wearing and pulled out a pipe.

"Does everyone here smoke one of those?" Ranma asked blandly.

"Many do, many don't." The Magistrate replied enigmatically as he filled it from a small pouch.

Elina tutted disapprovingly. "Smoking can kill you. In fact it does kill most people who do it." She said.

Zeriah raised an eyebrow as he placed it between his teeth. "Really now." He said before snapping with his right hand. A shower of sparks jumped off his fingers and landed precisely in the end of his pipe. Smoke began to waft slowly from it. He inhaled and slowly exhaled a perfect ring of smoke before replying. "I have smoked for the last two-hundred and fifty years. If it was going to kill me I imagine it would have already done so."

That caught Elina flat-footed. "Two-hundred and… you don't look older than thirty, and that's being generous." She said.

He chuckled. "That is part of the gift of Exaltation." He said, taking another puff of his pipe.

"Immortality." She said doubtfully.

"Hardly." Zeriah said, "Only Gods live forever. The Dragon-blooded are gifted with a Longevity measured in centuries. I am only a few months from my two-hundred and sixty-eighth birthday. Not that it means all that much after the first hundred years."

"Try not to overwhelm her before we get a chance to fill in everyone." Ranma said, shooting the magistrate a reprimanding look. He chuckled around his pipe.

"If you insist." He said.

Elina leaned back in her chair, frowning heavily. "This is a strange place." She said, "However this world is not Earth." She looked to Ranma who nodded. "I did not think so. Back home I would have called you a charlatan. Here, however, I must consider whether or not there is some truth to your claim."

Ranma drummed the arm of her chair thoughtfully. Then she held out a hand. "Watch." She said and summoned a very small amount of ki.

Elina stared as a ball of golden light five inches across that flickered and flared like a miniature star popped into existence. "Oh my." She said quietly.

"This is Ki. The Essence of life." Ranma said before poking it gently. The orb rocked, and felt a bit warm, but stayed above her palm.

The doctor leaned back and forth, taking it in from multiple angles. "That." She said, "is far more convincing."

Ranma smirked and closed her hand, reabsorbing the ki as she did. "We'll be explaining a lot of things in a few minutes." She said.

The old woman nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. Her brow furrowed in thought as she leaned back in her chair, quiet for the first time since she had introduced herself at the door.

"We're just waiting a few people." Ryu said, slipping into a chair just on the other side of Zeriah. Ranma cast her eyes over the room. Most of the tables were nearly full, with men and women; mostly women oddly enough; talking in hushed tones and shooting glances towards the table they were at. If she had to guess she would put the average age at ten to twenty years older than her. Not a group likely to listen to her.

She sighed and put it out of her mind. They would deal with it as it came, like always. A small group of servants approached the head table with bowls and plates on trays.

She smiled. At least she wouldn't have to do so on an empty stomach.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kiku poked at the half-empty bowl of soup, pouting. Beside her her mother was quietly ignoring her melodrama while talking to Emily. It wasn't fair, Ranma was _right there_ and other people were going and talking to her.

This line of thought which had been going in circles for almost as long as they had been in the room was interrupted by a clatter as Hikari, the girl she had accidentally dropped a sandwich on, sat down next to her. Her plate bounced with the force she set it down with.

Kiku looked at her and blinked at the look of anger and exasperation on the girl's face. "You okay?" She asked, her own melodramatic thoughts evaporating into the wind.

"My brother is a colossal idiot." Hikari ground out.

"Not that unusual." Emily said from her place across from Miyu. Both of the older women had turned to greet her. "If I had a penny for every idiot thing my brothers did back home…" She sighed.

"Did they also go on about how we've all be abducted by aliens in a government sanctioned tribute to prevent the destruction of the world?" Hikari deadpanned. Everyone stared at her.

"What?" Kiku said weakly as Emily shook her head.

"My brother is a conspiracy theorist. He'll believe damned near anything, except the truth." Hikari face planted into the table with a soft groan, just missing her plate and soup bowl. "He still isn't here. He thinks we're all going to be brainwashed or something." Kiku somehow understood that despite the presence of a table in the way.

"So what do you think is going on?" Miyu asked gently, reaching over and rubbing the girl's shoulder comfortingly.

Hikari looked up from the table. "Something that doesn't involve aliens." She said, eliciting snorts of amusement from Kiku and Emily.

"And?" Miyu prodded.

"I don't know." Hikari sighed, "Just not aliens is about all I can manage right now."

Miyu patted her on the back once before going back to her soup. "Fair enough. Your brother does sound like someone quite difficult to get along with." She said.

"He can be, but not normally this hard." Hikari started in on her soup. "This is good."

Kiku shrugged. It was fine she guessed. She just didn't like leeks.

A loud tink-tink-tink cut through the cloud of conversation. Kiku followed it to the head table where the Lieutenant from the day before was standing up.

"Good afternoon everyone." He said once the room was focused on him. "While we are still missing a few people I'd like to get this started so that we don't waste too much time. Please feel free to eat, and get more from the table."

He looked around the room. "Now I know all of you have a lot of questions. Where are we. Why are we here. How did we get here, and can we get home." He said, "Along with those I know some of you are wondering about other things. I've heard questions about the glowing lights we all experienced on arrival. You will get your answers, as best as we can give, right now."

He turned to the rest of the head table. "May I introduce the two people who will be answering most of these questions. While he is still injured after the events of the night we arrived he has agreed to provide answers. Please welcome Magistrate Ragara Zeriah, a native of this land."

A man who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties raised a hand. "I hope you don't mind if I don't stand. I'm still rather sore from being blown through a support pillar by the young Castellan here." He gestured to Ranma, whom he was sitting next to.

The redhead sipped a glass of some drink. "Next time don't try and hit me with that hammer." She said blandly. Kiku blinked. He'd what?!

"And allow me to introduce the other person who will be answering your questions." Ryu continued, "Castellan of Greyfalls Saotome Ranma, whom I know some of you recognize." His gaze swept the crowd and Kiku noticed a number of nervous looking people. "She is from Japan like most of us. Circumstances have led to her being asked to take charge of the city for the foreseeable future."

A man with thick dark hair pulled into a topknot stood up. "How does a child find themselves in charge of a city?"

Ryu opened his mouth to respond, only to stop as Ranma reached out and tapped him on the arm. Words were exchanged, quietly, and he sat down as Ranma stood. As she did the light which poured through the few windows above caught her hair, which shimmered as though she were haloed by the sun.

"If you wouldn't mind sitting back down." She said sharply, "We will get to that, but first we need to clear up a few other questions."

"But I will get an answer?" The man pressed.

"You will." She assured. The man nodded and took his seat.

Ranma looked around the room. "To answer the questions Ryu brought up. To start with we are no longer on Earth." The only reaction she received was a collective nodding of heads. "I see most of you figured that out. More specifically however we are in Greyfalls, a small nation in the east that was, until yesterday, a tributary of the largest nation in this world. We'll get back to that later."

She took a sip of her drink. No one else was moving, their attention firmly on the young woman. "That is about all we know." She said bluntly, "We don't know why we were brought here. We don't know how, and we don't know if we can go back." She sighed, "We all want to go home I imagine, yes?" Heads bobbed around the room and murmurs of agreement came from all corners.

"I can't promise we'll ever manage to do that, but I can promise we won't stop looking." Ranma said, "Despite my own circumstances I do want to go home as well. Still that leaves us with deal with the fallout of our arrival for however long were here."

"Consequences like your own title?" The man from earlier said.

Ranma nodded. "And the circumstances that lead to that." She said, "This world didn't just appear when we arrived. There were things going on here long before we arrived." She paused as Zeriah tapped her on the arm. "Yes?"

"Do you mind if I explain the events of the last several months?" He asked.

"Feel free." Ranma said, sitting back down.

The local straightened, wincing visibly, but as he said before did not stand. "It started about six months ago when we first received word that a nation to our south, known as Vaneha, had invaded a neighbouring kingdom."

Kiku listened, spellbound like most of the people in the room. Maybe it was the fact it was about a war, or maybe it was just that it was events that would affect them, or maybe he was just a better storyteller than any history teacher she had ever had. Whatever it was Kiku hardly noticed the time pass, other than to finish her soup and cheese, until he wound down his tale with, "And so the Satrap decided to host the usual calibration events in the interest of maintaining an appearance of stability."

He sipped from a glass in front of him. "The last of those events was a dinner that he invited quite a few of the important dynasts to. Myself included. That event was on the same night as your arrival, and it was interrupted by the Castellan crashing through the roof and splitting a table in half."

"You make it sound like I chose to appear two hundred feet up." Ranma said rolling her eyes. "Besides things wouldn't have gotten out of hand if someone hadn't stuck a sword in my face and started trying to take my head off."

"Lily was just doing her duty. As was I." Zeriah said, waving her off. "Besides I don't remember too much after you put me through that support pillar." Shaking his head he continued, "Once I regained consciousness I learned, from my student, that the Castellan and her friend had managed to route half a legion and destroy the two warstriders that had been left to guard the fortress. I'm sure you've all seen the wrecks on your way in." More heads bobbed around the room.

"I'll handle this next bit." Ranma said, standing once more.

"As you wish." Zeriah settled back in his chair.

Ranma looked around the room. "Some of you probably can't imagine how someone like me could have managed that, can you? Hands up if you can't imagine it." More than half of the people in the room raised their hands, Hikari and Emily included.

Rather than say anything Ranma held out one hand, palm pointed to the ceiling, and a flicker of light appeared above it. A sphere of roiling golden power grew from that spark into a miniature star twice the size of a basketball. At the same time a mark appeared on her forehead, a stylized sun that blazed with the same golden colour of the sphere.

Kiku had seen the blue blasts Ranma had thrown around in Nerima during the times when she managed to spot the battles of her or her brother. They had always glowed an arrogant blue, but she had never felt anything more than the concussive wave from one going off. This time was different. As the spark formed and grew she could feel the waves of power rolling off the surface; and judging by the reactions of the entire room, who collectively seemed to shuffle away from the redhead, so could everyone else.

It was… awe inspiring.

"Anyone still doubt me?" Ranma asked looking about. The light of the orb shone off the gold highlights of her clothes and reflected in a shimmering display from her necklace and braid.

"No one?" She asked again as the room remained silent. "Good." The orb winked out of existence and Kiku sighed and pouted. It had been really cool.

The door to the room chose that moment to swing open. A few people, including Kiku, looked back. All that entered was a perfectly Ordinary Raven, which flew across the room to land at the foot of the head table. Probably to do perfectly Ordinary Raven things. Ranma glanced down at it and Kiku saw the ghost of a smile.

She looked at the Ordinary Raven again. It was an Ordinary Raven, perfectly Ordinary. Doing Ordinary things. For a Raven. So Ordinary in fact that Kiku would have stopped paying attention to it if Ranma hadn't smiled at it. Did she like Ravens? Did she like this Ordinary Raven? Should Kiku like Ravens?

Unnoticed by Kiku her mother's eyes narrowed as she to stared at the Raven.

"Now, what happened after I managed to fight off the legion was the Goddess of Greyfalls itself arrived." A few eyes blinked, most stayed riveted. "Her name is Setarial and she brought with her a message delivered by her servant. Leitleen, say hi." The last was directed to the Ordinary Raven.

The Ordinary Raven spoke. "Welcome everyone, to Greyfalls, Jewel of the East." She said, hopping up onto the tabletop. Kiku's brain stopped working for a few seconds. What? She shared a look with Hikari. The other girl's face looked like the sort of blank slate normally seen only in anime.

"Everyone, please say hello to Leitleen. Servant of Setarial, and I believe a Goddess herself?" Ranma questioned the no-longer-ordinary-but-still-a-raven raven.

"Messages, messengers, and ravens; but only in Greyfalls." The talking _raven_ answered politely. "The nation that is, not the city."

"Thank you for coming." Ranma said sincerely, "I was worried you would be late."

"The good Duke passed on your request. I came immediately." Leitleen replied before turning to the, once again stunned, crowd.

"As you can see I am not lying." Ranma said to the room, "Leitleen was the one who carried the news which decided how the… dispute the night of our arrival would end. If you would?"

Leitleen cleared her throat. "Two nights ago I reported to the my mistress the news of the Battle of Kindler's Rock, a small former mining town many miles south. General Kitano marched south with most of the military forces of Greyfalls and attempted to engage the forces of Vaneha in open battle. That battle ended with the General's death and the utter slaughter of his men. Few, if any, escaped the battle."

Silence met that pronouncement.

Ranma said something to the raven and she nodded before taking wing and heading out the door. "Setarial informed the Satrap, right after Ryouga and I had gotten done injuring a third of his forces and sending the rest running." She sighed, regret showing. "Between the enemy inside the gates and the enemy marching on the city he decided that it would be best to simply withdraw his forces and leave the city to whatever fate might come." Well… that didn't sound good to Kiku.

"Oh dear." Her mother murmured, apparently agreeing with Kiku.

"The man in charge of that army has made it clear, repeatedly, that he intends to burn the city down and slaughter anyone who remains as a warning against association with the Realm." Ranma said into the silent room, "He doesn't know the Realm has left, but there's also no guarantee he will leave the city be either, and with winter already here there isn't anywhere for us or the people of the city to go."

Ryu stood up. "As the senior, and only, JGSDF officer currently available I have been discussing the situation at length with the Magistrate, the new Castellan, and the Sergeants who were also caught up in this mess." He looked around, "We are all in agreement. As much as we would prefer there is nowhere for us to go that won't end with us in a similar or worse situation."

The topknotted man stood up again. "And you believe that being besieged, without an army to defend us I might add, is a better choice than flight!" He demanded.

Ranma fixed him with a look. "And starving in the snow is better?" She asked sarcastically, "You are free to leave if you want."

"I am no coward, but this battle you seem set on fighting is hopeless without an army to defend the city. History is filled with examples of fools who chose to fight when flight would have been a wiser option." The man said, standing tall. A few nodded and voiced murmurs of agreement.

"The situation is not so hopeless as you seem to believe." Zeriah said, standing slowly. A grimace of pain flickered across his face. "Allow me a moment, if you will, to explain the last mystery of your arrival, before you decide to pass judgement on the young Castellan."

"Allow me to tell you of the gift of the Second Breath."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Lockler's patrol had been quiet once he had put the mess of the Cynis mansion behind him. The supernatural. Things that mortal men were not supposed to mess with.

"What madness were they dealing with in that place." He muttered to himself as his somewhat depleted patrol departed the last of a series of large townhouses on the west side of Alder Plaza.

"Sir?" One of this men, Greenman wasn't it, asked.

He shook his head. "Just wondering at the situation at the Cynis house." He said, "Sorcerers. Damned sorcerers."

The young man nodded. "I just hope the guys we left there are fine." He said.

Lockler clapped him on the shoulder. "They will be fine. They're in the hands of the Magistrate now." He said reassuringly.

"And that Anathema." One of the other soldiers quipped. "Can't forget that mutt."

"That mutt fought a warstrider hand-to-hand." Lockler reminded them, "And we are now working for them, unless you forget."

"I thought we were working for the redhead." The same soldier said, "Not her pet."

"If he told you to do something would you refuse?" Lockler asked pointedly. The silence was telling. "Next time, think with something other than your dick when you talk boy. Maybe you'll live long enough to actually use it."

He ignored the outraged young man, and the jeers his own comment had prompted. "Alright boys, get it together next house is coming up." He snapped out. Men fell silent as they approached the next mansion on the list.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Superpowers. They had superpowers. Well it was a lot more than just superpowers, but really that was all Kiku cared about as she stared at her hands, flexing them experimentally as though she expected them to catch fire.

At the head table Zeriah had settled back into his seat, grimacing in pain. "A single Dragon-blooded can fight a small army. Dozens of Dragon-blooded can end a war." He raked his gaze across the room. "The Vanehan army is a threat, but even as new to their exaltation as your soldiers are, they are Dragon-blooded. Given the performance I witnessed the young Castellan perform just two nights ago, and an army raised from the brave people of this city. I do believe that the Vanehan army will not succeed in its goals. This City will _Stand_." He pounded his fist on the table in emphasis. A soft brown aura swirled around him, carrying the dust of the room with it.

"You have a plan then?" The topknotted man asked

"We do." Ranma said.

The man nodded. "My name is Arai Shin." He said, "I am a military historian with the Tokyo National Museum. My business is knowing the past." He looked around the room. "History is filled with brave stands against terrible odds. Many of those are remembered for the great victories they represent."

He looked up at the head table. "But many others are remembered for the terrible destruction wrought upon those who stood their ground. All I know tells me that flight is the best course of action. These people here are not soldiers, or warriors. We cannot fight a battle, let alone a war. And yet." He took a deep breath. "Your words make me wonder. They make me question. You say that we carry in us a blessing that once toppled titans. Two days ago I would have called you mad. Today. Today I wonder can it be done, and some part of me wishes to find out. It calls me to take action when I know I should shy away."

More heads nodded, more people voiced agreement. Kiku found herself nodding even as she flexed her hands and poked the table with a spoon. It was the same thing that had prodded her to offer to help Emily. A need to be doing _something_ _more_ than what she had been.

Shin took a deep breath. "What would you ask of us? What do you need us to achieve?" He asked. His question was echoed around the chamber.

Ranma looked relieved to Kiku. Like a weight of some kind had been lifted.

"We aren't going to ask you to fight." Ryu said, standing. "That is the duty of my soldiers and myself. That said if you have experience with law enforcement or military service we won't turn aside the assistance. We need an army, and any extra bodies that can help organize and train it are welcome."

Ranma stood as well. "Nearly everyone in the government left yesterday. While we have some of the locals working on getting a provisional city government set up any help you can offer with that would be great. Also if any of you have ideas on preparations that can be made to help with the upcoming siege please feel free." She looked around.

"Also if you do wish to leave tomorrow morning we are sending groups to the north and east that will be trying to raise reinforcements for the city from those areas. They are far enough afield that you should be safe from the fighting regardless of how the battle goes. Now, please enjoy your lunch." The redhead sat back down and

"I think, after lunch" Emily mused, drawing Kiku's attention, "I should get back to that project I was working on. We may need it sooner than later." All around them people began to talk. She listened to them. A few hours before these same people had been arguing, sulking, or wandering the halls as bored as she had been. Now there was an energy that filled the room, that flowed from person to person in a loop that fueled itself.

Despite the dark news that had been shared, the temple seemed more alive than ever.

"Kiku." Her mother said.

"Hm?" She looked up at her mother. "What?"

"There is something we need to discuss after lunch. In private." Her mother said, looking more serious than she was used to.

"Okay?" She blinked. Now what?

-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: There we go. Chapter Nine. NINE I SAY!

*Smack face with Tails* Anyway, that is the next chapter. We'll be taking a break from this lot for a while. The next chapter I write is going to be for the Shadows of Thorns side story and we'll probably be sticking with that until it's done.

So let me know what you think. I'll admit this does not feel like my best chapter, but then I always have that feeling soooo… Yeah. Point out any spelling or grammar mistakes. God knows I need an editor at times.

I've tried to cut down on repeated information, but at the same time I'm wondering if in doing so I've accidentally cut things I shouldn't have. Let me know if there's any confusion.


	10. Chapter 10 -- Deals of Broken Fate

Guon Fan swallowed her saucer of sake and let out a pleased groan as it burned its way down her throat. This was far better than the pansy wine that the city Goddess had served at her party the night before. It had a fire to it that the fancy tasting fruit juice lacked.

Her drinking partner shook his head at her display of gluttony. "At least show some decorum Guildmaster." He drawled as he sipped from his own saucer.

She flipped him off and poured herself another saucer full. "Go blow it up your crack you old fart." She chuckled as she glanced out the window of her office into one of the dirty side streets of Nooji Plaza. Her. Office. It was hers' once again. She cackled and poured half the saucer down her throat, guzzling the burning liquid.

It wasn't much of an office, being little more than a single dilapidated room hanging over the main drydock, but it was hers and so was everything that came with it.

"Now." She said as she slowly poured herself another. "I got yanked out of my house, shoved in a dress, and shuffled off to a ball last night. Never got to ask how the boys are handling this mess."

The old man smiled grimly as he swirled the sake in his cup. "Reactions have been mixed to this. Realm disappears only to get replaced by an Anathema the same day? The Realm's administration might not have had too many fans around here, but most of our ship sail for the Realm." He said, "That's going to change after today. You know that."

She drummed her finger on the table and sipped her drink. She frowned. As much as she wanted to tell him he was being a worrying old hen again, she couldn't. He was right. The Realm would blacklist any ship out from Greyfalls.

"We still make the best ships in the east." She said, "That's not something that's going to go away overnight Benny."

"It's Bensworth girl." He muttered before sighing as she lazily rolled her eyes. "Outside of Lookshy and Nexus how many kingdoms actually need ships? Hm? Lookshy won't buy from us anymore either. Anathema taint and all that. Way I see it the only way we're going to keep afloat without cutting men is by somehow getting the favour of the new ah… Castellan wasn't it?"

Guon Fan smirked. "Yep. Cute as a button she is. Somehow managed to look adorable as she was tearing Bengtsson down." She laughed. "Bit of a firecracker I'd say." From her short interactions with the girl, she'd have to say she liked what she saw. Oh, the girl was rougher than a freshly chopped log, but she had _style_.

"Better not be more than a bit." The old man said, "I've heard what happens when a ruler lets their emotions get the better of them." He gave her a pointed look that she ignored.

Feet on the creaky stairs outside interrupted any further conversation. They both looked up as one of the young apprentices stumbled into the room breathing heavily. "Something- Something you need to see out in the square." He said.

"What is it?" Benny snapped before she could.

The boy gulped and steadied himself. "L-Lady Setarial. The Goddess is in the square. She's going to give a speech in a couple minutes." He said.

Guon Fan's eyebrows rose and she looked to her second. He looked quite flummoxed. She chuckled. "A Goddess giving a speech, heh." She drawled and stood, pulling her lazily thrown on robes into something a bit more modest. A little bit.

"Lead the way." She said to the boy. She glanced over at Benny. "You coming old man?" She asked.

He sighed and stood, his back creaking and popping as he did. "Yeah, yeah. Give me a sec." He plucked his hat from the table and nodded to the boy in the doorway. "Lead on." The boy nodded and lead the way down the rickety stairs to the ground floor and then out into the street.

The street was… not bustling, but it was busier than it had been the last couple days. Like herself, the boy, and Benny those who were out and about were making their way to the nearby square. Usually the home of criers and shady merchants. Now it was apparently host to a Goddess.

Her lips quirked into a smile. How things changed.

As they got closer to the square the number of people increased until as they finally entered they had to elbow their way through. Despite the crowds, Setarial was easy to spot right from the moment they reached the square. Standing tall and radiant on the platform that usually hosted, at most, a particularly irritated Dynast or officious ass from atop the hill, was the Goddess herself.

Flanking the divinity were those two bears, Mikorov and Ikorov. Both looked positively terrifying despite doing nothing but casually chatting with each other behind the Goddess. A chat that seemed to require large gestures with their very large clawed paws. Or it would have been, except Guon Fan had drunk both under the table. Bears were less threatening after you saw them passed out with their muzzle stuck in a tankard a time or two.

They managed to break through the crowd into the small space around the platform that seemed to only exist due to either respect or fear of the Goddess and her entourage. The moment she did the Goddess spotted her and smiled in that mysterious way that raised the hairs on the back of Guon Fan's neck. Oh, she had better not be planning something that would make her regret throwing her non-existent hat into the ring last night.

The Goddess raised a hand and the murmurs of the crowd swelled briefly then fell away. "Men and women of Greyfalls." She said in a quiet voice that carried on the breeze. "I come to you today to speak of the events that have unfolded over the last several days. You all know of the departure of the Realm, but the why and what next have been lost to rumour and speculation. Here, today, I shall dispel those rumours and correct the speculation."

She said nothing new to Guon Fan, though her way of presentation was different than the night before. You played to the audience after all. Still, its effects on the rest of the crowd were readily apparent. The apprentice who had brought her and Benny to the square was captivated as he stared up at the Goddess. Whether he was listening, or simply trying to peek underneath her dress she really couldn't say. Either way, his guileless face was shared by many people in the crowd.

Finally, the Goddess left familiar territory and came to what Guon Fan suspect had always been her goal. "So it is that I must ask that you, the people of Greyfalls, give your support to the new Castellan." The Goddess implored. The shipwright couldn't tell if the desperation in her voice was genuine or fake, but it was having quite an effect on the crowd. The boy was nodding along, a growing grin on his face. She'd probably have to snap him out of whatever fool idea the Goddess was planting in his head. Spirits, more trouble than they were worth most of the time.

Setarial held one hand out towards Garrison Heights. "If you believe in protecting this city. In ensuring its freedom and its future, please, head to Garrison Heights. The guards who have remained behind need new recruits to help them man the walls. They need your aid." Her hand shifted, pointing a little to the side. "If you seek a way to help that involves less combat please see the interim council that is assembling at City Hall under the good Duke Staedtler. With the departure of the Realm's administrators, they are desperately short staffed."

"For Greyfalls!" Someone shouted in the depths of the crowd. The cry was taken up by others and soon nearly everyone in the crowd was shouting it. It was quite the cacophony to be honest. Very loud and very obnoxious, and the Goddess allowed it to go on for several minutes before raising both hands into the sky. Silence slowly descended onto the square.

"Thank you." She said with a warm smile that even Guon Fan doubted was fake. "Thank you. All of you. Though the days to come may be harsh, I do not doubt that with the leadership of our new Castellan and your love for this city that we will get through them stronger than ever. Thank you." Setarial flourished a bow and disappeared with the wind.

The crowd was silent for a moment, then it erupted into roars of excited conversation. The young apprentice turned to her. "I'm going up to the Castle!" He shouted over the crowd.

Guon Fan sighed and clapped a hand on his shoulder, sharing an exasperated look over his head with Benny. "No, you're not." She said firmly. The boy's face faltered.

"But-" The boy started before trailing off at her firm look.

"You're going back to the shipyard. You're going to make sure it's passed around that no one is going to join the damned army and anyone who does won't have a job to come back to if they do avoid getting themselves killed in their search for death and glory. Understand?" She ordered, glaring into the boy's eyes.

The boy hesitated before nodding. She smiled. "Good boy." She said before pushing him towards Benny. "Now Benny." She said to her second.

"Bensworth." The older man sighed. She waved him off.

"Get me my horse." She said.

"Excuse me?" His eyebrows went up.

She rolled her eyes and waved at the empty platform. "I'm not letting my boys wander off to die, but staying out of this mess ain't possible if we want the Castellan's favour." She said, "Get me my horse. I'm going to head up to the Castellan and cut a deal."

"For?" He asked.

She smiled. "For what we do best." Her grin had the boy in Benny's grip shaking with nerves. " _Building shit._ "

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter Ten

Deals of Broken Fate

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

The sound of his cane tapping the tiles echoed in the entrance hall of the Greyfalls City Hall. City Hall. Garrison heights may have been the epicenter of Realm administration, but it was first and foremost a military installation. There simply wasn't enough room to administrate both the city and the nation from within. So, in the interest of freeing up space, it had long ago been decided that administration of the City of Greyfalls would be done from a three-story building in the square at the base of the path leading up to Garrison Heights.

Staedtler craned his neck looking up at the three stories high ceiling. Balconies ran around the entire room. A staircase lead up to his left, wide enough for three people. Around the room, clerk desks were set into a fence of bronze that allowed only small openings for people to conduct their business.

"It's odd seeing it so quiet." He said to Ross. His guard merely nodded with one hand on his sword as he scanned the empty room. Staedtler looked around the room and shook his head. "This is going to be an uphill battle. Getting everything organized and running well enough in a mere couple days…" He sighed and chuckled. "Such is life, eh Ross?"

The mercenary chuckled. "Ever know anything worthwhile that was easy?" He asked.

"A few things." The merchant allowed as he walked into the middle of the room before he turned to face the entrance. "Alright, secure the building. I want an accounting of which rooms look like they've been meddled with. We need to ascertain just what we're working with."

"There's no need for that Staedtler." A voice drawled from the second floor. The merchant looked up as the owner of the voice stepped into view at a railing. Easily a few years older than Staedtler the owner of the voice was an old man dressed in the richly coloured, but simplistically styled robes of the Thousand Scales. What hair he had left was groomed as well as could be expected.

"Councilor Wei Bu." Staedtler acknowledged as he looked up at the older man. A few other men and women, many years younger than either of them, joined the Council at the railings. While it was awkward to count them from below he could guess that there probably weren't more than a dozen.

Wei Bu nodded sagely at him. "Here to take charge for the Anathema?" He asked shrewdly.

"Someone needs to re-establish the local government." The Duke responded, "That the Lady Castellan requested it of me is not important."

"Hmm." The older man shook his head. "It is very important, but perhaps not pertinent to the current situation." Wei Bu walked along the railing towards the stairs. "More pertinent is what it has asked of you."

"What she," He corrected, "asked was for me to bring together an interim council who will organize the civilian response to the upcoming siege. Fire, a town watch, etc. We will need to account for food stores and prepare for possible outbreaks of disease. That is what _she_ asked."

The man above reached the top of the stairs and carefully began to make his way down. "That is something that I can help you with." Wei Bu said. He stumbled slightly on the stairs and one of the younger men around him quickly took his arm. He pulled it loose of the boy with a stern look and a grumble.

Staedtler watched carefully as the old man finished his descent of the stairs. Councilor Wei Bu was an appointee of the Realm and had served loyally for nearly fifty years as one of the mortal councilors of the city council. He was proud of the city but well known for his unwavering support the Realm's leadership and an outspoken advocate of Greyfalls becoming a proper principality of the Realm.

"I would have thought that you would have left with the Satrap," Staedtler said.

"Too old." Wei Bu said as his shoes clacked on the tiled floor. "Perhaps if I were younger but as old as I am? Let younger men make that journey." He stood tall, despite his back cracking loud enough that Staedtler could hear it from halfway across the room. "Greyfalls, as it stands, is currently in the hands of an unspeakable evil, and I do pray that one day it shall be freed of such evil. However, I am also no fool." He crossed the floor to the Duke aggressively.

Ross made to interpose himself between them, but Staedtler waved him off. "I would argue you are an old fool, Wei Bu. Your eyes clouded by years of propaganda and indoctrination." He replied. The conviction in his own voice surprised him.

The old Councilor snorted. "One man's fool is another's hero, as it always has been." Wei Bu replied as he stopped feet from Staedtler. "This city is my home, and while I do not agree with your… liaison with that thing. I am forced to acknowledge the simple truth. Greyfalls cannot be saved if there is no Greyfalls _to_ save."

Staedtler nodded in agreement. "Focus on the more pressing danger first." He said, carefully weighing the risks. There was no doubt that the Councilor would do his best to sabotage their long-term efforts, but he and the clerks who had stayed could prove invaluable to getting the interim council organized quickly.

He turned to Ross. "Secure the building." He ordered, shooing his guard away before turning back to the elderly councilor. Working with the old Councilor had its drawbacks, but so did so much else of what they were doing. They simply didn't have time for other options.

"Councilor Bu, I appreciate your offer." He said, bowing ever so slightly to the older man. "Any assistance you feel like offering will be appreciated." It was like inviting a viper into your bed in the hopes it would scare away a dragon, but sometimes you simply had to work with what you had.

-0-0-0-0-0

The line stretched down the hill, wound around the square at the base, and disappeared around the corner. Men and women, many of whom Ranma suspect would be turned aside for being too young… Assuming they didn't lie about their ages. It was amazing to the new Castellan just how many people had answered the call that Setarial had put out. Even now, hours after the first few had begun tricking in, more poured in from the surrounding streets.

"I didn't expect this many people." She said to the Lily. The magistrate shook her head.

"There is a reason we normally regulate interactions between Gods and Mortals," Zeriah said. The former magistrate leaned over the side and peered down at the gate beneath them. "Their charisma is supernatural."

Ranma nodded. She had noticed that when meeting the Goddess herself. It was truly amazing just how many people were showing up. "I thought we would have issues getting a thousand volunteers." She said, turning away from the still growing line to look at the gathered mass of volunteers within the fortress.

Legionnaires and JSDF soldiers were shouting orders to new recruits, organizing them into groups of a hundred or more. Each group was led off by two legionnaires to be put through an hour of intense exercise. Those who couldn't keep up were being organized into second-line groups to aid with logistics and guard-duty. Those who could keep up were being assigned to training groups overseen by wounded Legionnaires and what healthy troops they had available.

From her perch on the wall, she could see one group that had gathered around a wounded Legionnaire who was showing them how to properly hold wield a spear. The weapons hadn't all been brought up yet so the men were using arrows as stand-ins. Hopefully, they didn't break too many.

A burst of cold wind whipped across the battlements. Ranma ignored it. Despite looking like it was thin silk her clothes were surprisingly warm and cozy, like standing in the sun. Still, she looked to the sky. The weather had been getting worse all day. It had started sunny, but cloud cover had rolled by the time she had left the temple. The temperature was dropping with every hour that passed.

"Won't be long until it starts snowing," Zeriah said as he noticed where her attention had strayed.

She nodded. "Do you think we have enough warm clothes?" She asked the magistrate.

"For the men? I wouldn't know." He responded, "With the state of things I doubt anyone knows that."

It was true. Too much to do, too little time. That was the theme of the last few days and everything seemed to take longer than it should. Not that she knew how long things should take. She knew nothing of running an army or a city.

The crunch of gravel announced the arrival of a JSDF private as she climbed up the stairs. "Lady Castellan." She saluted, "A Guon Fan of the Shipwrights Guild is here to speak with you."

Ranma repressed a groan. What did the madwoman want with her? "Did she say why?" Ranma asked, just barely keeping a plaintive tone out of her voice.

"She said something about setting terms, ma'am." The Private said.

Ranma twitched at the address. "What terms?" She looked to Zeriah who shrugged.

"The Shipwrights Guild is the third most powerful organization in the city after the Satrap's Office and the City Council." Zeriah said, "Without their ships trade doesn't flow. If I had to make a guess I'd say she's looking for a favourable agreement in exchange for her people's help."

Ranma mulled it over for a moment in her head. Shipwrights were carpenters and engineers. They needed both, badly. "How many people are we talking here?" She asked.

"While shipbuilding isn't the largest trade in the city they hold a lot of influence. You want to get your goods to either Nexus or the Blessed Isle you need their ships to take it." Zeriah said stroking his chin. "At least three thousand members directly. Their indirect influence is about a fifth of the city at least. To top it off they're also the best shipwrights in the East. Even if we weren't in dire straits making enemies of the of them would be a foolish thing."

Ranma nodded and turned to the Private. "Where is she?" She asked. She hadn't realized exactly how large Guon Fan's influence actually stretched. It looked like she really would have to speak with the guild leader herself then.

"She's been shown to the Palace for now." The private said.

"Show me," Ranma ordered.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The scritch-scratch of pencil on paper filled the quiet war room as Arai Shin, the military historian, marked the city map before him. "Circumvallation fortifications will probably be built about here." He said, "Given the expected ranges of weaponry this would put them out of range of what defensive fire he can anticipate."

The Lieutenant traced the line that encircled the city. "But still able to hit the walls?" He asked.

"The outer walls. Assuming they take advantage of the prolific supplies of timber on the far side of the river and have some knowledge of siege weaponry." The historian said.

Ryu nodded. His own military training lacked in the area of more historical methods of warfare. After all, why would he ever need to know about trebuchets and catapults? Tanks, bombs, and bullets were the kings of war, not rocks and sticks. The historian, however, knew a great deal about the traditional deployment of such weapons.

"Building those weapons on the west bank would make taking advantage of breaches difficult. What with the open ground of the river. Frozen or not that's not a good direction to assault from." He noted.

"The Realm kept the area around the city well tended." Shin said, "There's nothing that could be used for cover within two hundred meters of the wall, and most of what's beyond that is empty livestock pens. Frankly, the River's only downsides are the banks they'll have to climb up and down. There's no wall for the Docks themselves. A push there would cut off anyone in Nooji and Mist-Town. Likewise, however, a push from the east that breaches the merchant district could cut the upper city off from the lower."

Murmurs of agreement came from the rest of the people around the table. Sergeants Akiyama, Ito and Taylor were crowded around the war table along with a couple new faces. The first was Sergeant James Roberts, an ex-British Army vet nearly a decade older than Akiyama whose left eye was a milky white; the second was Benjamin Adams, a young African-American FBI agent out of Seattle. Both had proven to have useful suggestions, even if they were a bit hard to understand. Much like with Dr. Zutter both were trying to communicate with a language they had only started learning the day before. Unlike Dr. Zutter neither had the same talent for languages she did.

Ryu sighed and rubbed his eyes. "We're going to need to make a decision about the lower city then." He said, "Can we hold it?"

"We're going to have to." Sergeant Taylor said with a scowl. "If we don't they'll get into the city and I can tell you from personal experience there's more than one way to get around the Canal Gate entrance to the Upper City. We've caught more than a few criminals tunneling up from Mist-town under the inner walls. They find even one of those tunnels intact they'll either undermine the entire structure or get men into our logistics."

"Then we're going to need to build an outer wall for the Canal Gate District." Ryu sighed, "Ideas?"

Ito spoke first. "The warehouses at the dockside are made of brick. With some additional reinforcement, we could get a palisade set up down there." He suggested. "The only big issue is the section where the main road runs right past the piers. There are some stalls and covered areas, but nothing with walls for two hundred meters."

James cleared his throat. "We do have several days before the enemy arrives, right?" He prodded.

"At least two more days. Maybe as many as five if we're lucky." Ryu replied, after untangling the slightly mangled Japanese.

"Then we take advantage of what resources are outside the city walls while we can." The British Sergeant suggested. "I remember seeing a few low stone walls outside the city. If we cannibalize those and get some logs from across the river we might be able to get something basic set up."

"Depends on whether we can get the logs across the river or not." Ito said, "It might work. Some of those barges were pretty big. We'd have to get on it right away and work through the night."

"What about something non-standard?" The FBI agent asked, drawing looks from the rest. "Even with that new wall thing, it's going to be the weakest point, right?" Everyone nodded. "What have we for explosives?" He stumbled a bit over his words, but Ryu managed to parse the meaning out.

"You're thinking mines," Akiyama said, leaning over the map. "We don't have much in the way or explosives. Grenades mostly. A little C4, a box of claymores. We were planning on using them to cover the withdrawal from the lower city if we had to. We don't have enough to expend elsewhere."

Benjamin nodded. "What about black powder?" He asked, "Is there a chance we could make some for use in IEDs?"

Ryu looked to Akiyama and Ito who both frowned. "Not hard to make, but do we have time?" Akiyama mused.

"Doesn't need to be good powder." James said, "It just needs to explode. A few nails and say some glass. Rig it to a tripline of some kind. Maybe pull apart a few grenades for their mechanisms. We could make it work."

Ryu eyed the veteran who was running a hand through his grey beard thoughtfully. "What is your background specifically?" He asked curiously.

"Just army. Nothing special." The sergeant replied. "Not special forces or anything like that. I've just been around for a while."

He nodded. Somehow he didn't quite believe the sergeant's claim, but it didn't really matter. He was being helpful. "We'll have to see what we have to work with them." Ryu looked to Ito. "Send a message to Staedtler. We need to know how much sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter are in the city. Also how much he can get to us."

"I'll go if you'll let me," Benjamin said before Ito could respond. "Probably be more use down there than up here."

Ryu glanced at Ito. "Saves me a trip." The sergeant said.

"Go, and while you're there see what security issues he's having," Ryu ordered.

Benjamin nodded and pulled on his ruffled and battered suit jack. "I'll send word once I'm there." He said before leaving.

A moment passed after he left before Taylor spoke. "Call me an idiot, but what the hell is black powder?" The legionnaire asked.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The room the servants had shown Guon Fan to was one of the sitting rooms on the fourth floor, much like the one Ranma had spoken to Staedtler in. As Ranma stepped inside and shooed the private away she spotted the rough shipwright sitting by the window which overlooked the fortress yard. She was idly spinning a nearly empty glass of wine in her hand as she looked out over the press of bodies that was trying to call itself an army.

Guon Fan looked up. "Found time to speak to me then Castellan." She said, her only show of propriety being an irreverent salute with her wine glass before she drained it and poured out more from the bottle beside her, filling another glass as she did.

"Not as much for me to do as you'd think," Ranma said as she took the seat across from the shipwright and accepted the offered wine glass with a nod. "Pretty much everyone here knows more than I do." She sighed and politely sipped the wine.

The other woman snorted. "A lot of leading involves waiting." The guild master said, "Waiting for supplies to show up, waiting for people to finish the work you've assigned, waiting for people to remember they actually have a meeting now." She snorted at the last one. "Fucking Dynasts never showed up on time. Set a meeting always expect them to show up fifteen minutes late just because they can. The last bastard I had a meeting with was an hour and a half late."

"What?" This was not the conversation Ranma had expected.

Guon Fan chuckled. "The bastard showed up making some excuse about whores and the proper timing of some shit. Probably fucking them." She said, gesturing wildly with one hand as she sipped her wine with the other. "He'd wasted half my afternoon that could have been spent doing anything else than waiting for his him to remember to put his pants on. So I broke his nose and had him thrown out on his ass." She sipped her wine. "Week later the Satrap arranged for my removal from the Guild. Didn't last more than a couple weeks before you showed."

"Okay?" Ranma said slowly.

The shipwright set her glass down and leaned towards her. "You're confused. I get it. Not the conversation you were expecting, was it?" Guon Fan said, chuckling. Ranma shook her head. "Yeah, I thought not. Look the point I'm trying to make is my people don't like the Realm and haven't liked them for decades longer than I've been alive. Assholes, almost without exception. They strut about like peacocks without a care in the world and look down on everyone else because they're more "spiritually enlightened." We're willing to give you a chance as much because you aren't them as anything else. There's just the issue of what comes next. That's the great big yeddim in the room. Our ships sailed for the Realm almost without exception and they ordered as many as we could build as fast as we could build them." She paused.

"And there's no way that's happening anymore." Ranma sighed.

"Even without the Anathema issue there's the whole 'ran away like little bitches' thing to consider." Guon Fan said dryly, getting a chuckle from Ranma. "We put up with them 'cause they fought for us and made things better than others could. Moment things got tough they booked it. Or that's the attitude most of my people have."

Her people. It was clear that Guon Fan was quite possessive of the people who made up her guild. "What do your people want?" Ranma asked, trying to finally get the conversation to the point.

The rough woman drained the last of her wine glass and poured more out of the bottle. Ranma eyed it. The label was in Realm, she'd seen enough to recognize it by now. She had to wonder if it was 'hers' or if Guon Fan had brought it with her. She sipped it. It wasn't too bad as far as alcohol went, not that she had much of a taste for such things.

Finished filling her glass Guon Fan replied. "The Goddess went by earlier today. Nearly seduced half my young apprentices out of my hands. Filled their heads with glory and foolishness."

Ranma blinked at her. "You sure they weren't idiots before?" She asked.

The shipwright laughed loudly, nearly spilling her wine. "I'll admit she might not have needed to do much, but I value those brats." She said as she calmed down, "They're the future of my Guild and I'll not have them split their minds open on a Vanehan axe if I can help it. That said, there's a desire to prove themselves I can't just ignore. Not if I want to keep them."

"You're looking for work for them," Ranma stated. It was obvious from the beginning, but what kind of work was she looking for?

"I am. With this siege coming you're going to need help preparing for it." Guon Fan sipped her drink. "My people can offer a great deal. We're the best shipwrights in the East. We're carpenters, engineers, and everything else that is needed for shipbuilding. Got a few other odds and ends mixed in. Never know when a Dynast is going to make an odd request. Like decorative stonework."

"How many people are we talking?" Ranma as she considered the offer. If there were as many as Zeriah had suggested many of their issues with manpower could to solved.

"Guild membership stands at three-thousand, one-hundred and thirty-four. Last I checked anyway. Single largest non-government organization in the City." Guon Fan said with a smile that set Ranma's nerves on edge.

It was a few more and if they were what was promised construction wouldn't be an issue, still… "What's the price you're looking for?" Ranma asked as she met Guon Fan's gaze resolutely.

"Market value for any work we do during the siege." Guon Fan began, "We'll build siege equipment, towers, walls, anything you need. Additional pay if it needs to be done under fire. Pay plus half to the families of anyone who dies while building under fire."

Ranma mused on it. She knew she wasn't a money person, but it seemed fair to her. "Payment due after the siege." She after a moment. They had enough things to worry about right now without adding money management to it.

"Of course." Guon fan nodded. She had obviously been expecting that. "Two more things."

Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Go ahead." She prompted.

"First, you don't let any of my boys sign on to your army. None of them, for any reason. You don't conscript them, you don't let them volunteer unless I've gone and dumped them on your doorsteps myself." The steel unlaying her words made it clear this wasn't negotiable.

"Agreed." She had no problems making that promise. Trained or merely apprenticed, shipwrights would be more valuable without an axe through the skull. She suppressed a wince at the thought. A lot of people were going to die in this siege.

Guon Fan nodded and sipped her wine. "Lastly, I need you to promise that the government will buy ships from us after this mess is done with." She said.

Ranma frowned and leaned back. After the siege… She hadn't decided what she'd do after the siege. What role ships would take… Did they need a navy? Could they even afford one if they did? Also… "What kinds of ships do you build?" She asked.

"Galleys, triremes, the odd merchantman. Really anything that can be built in the west we can build just as well." The shipwright boasted.

"Out of wood," Ranma said.

Guon Fan cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, out of wood." She said, "What else would you build a ship out of?"

"Steel for one." Ranma said, "We build ships out of steel back home."

"Steel?" She sipped her wine and considered it. "Take a while to hammer out. Take a while to make that much steel as well."

Ranma shook her head. "Not that long really." She said, "But I understand it takes a different skill set than carpentry. Honestly, I can't promise that we'll buy ships that we might just make pointless in a little while." She had no idea if they had anyone knowledgeable in modern shipbuilding, but they could probably work things out.

"I see…" Guon Fan sighed before grinning mischievously, "You will, of course then, promise to work with us when you decide to bring about these 'steel leviathans' then, hmmm?" Ranma blinked and leaned back as the older woman leaned across the end table.

"I-" Ranma shut her mouth and frowned at the other woman who huffed playfully and sat back into her chair with a chuckle.

"Bit of steel there. Just as I thought." Guon Fan said, "Two out of three is good enough for me. Steel ships though… The boys won't believe it 'til they see it. I won't either mind you." She leered at Ranma over her glass of wine. "Assuming we get through this, the next few years are going to be interesting." She drained her wine glass and set it on the table before sticking out a hand. "Do we have a deal?" She asked.

Ranma met her gaze for a long moment. The older woman was seemingly wild and childish, but she had the trust of over three thousand people so she was probably fairly reliable… certainly she wasn't someone you wanted against you. Reaching out she grasped the proffered and they shook. "We have a deal." She agreed.

"Excellent." Guon Fan smiled and clapped a hand on Ranma's shoulder as she stood up. "Well then, I should head off and get to work organizing these things." Ranma caught sight of the wine bottle disappearing up one of the wide sleeves of her fancy, and loose, robe.

Ranma stood up as well. "Why don't you come with me to the war room." She suggested, "I need to see what they've been concocting without me. You can find out what needs doing." And she could have this woman torment Ryu for a while instead of her.

Guon Fan smiled, "A great idea."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kiku poked her head around the door of the Temple's forge. The room was busy as several men unloaded a pair of handcarts onto the clear tables while in the background Emily was barking orders to several more men who were setting up tables in the garden beyond onto which others were unloading more handcarts.

With her curiosity peaked she headed over to the older girl. "What's going on?" She asked when she reached her.

Emily glanced at her and spared a smile. "Kiku, good, I could use a hand." She said.

"Doing…?" Kiku prodded as she looked at closest handcart. It seemed to be piled high with metal. Pointy metal actually. A few pieces looked like they might belong on the end of a spear.

"Running the forge here." The older girl replied, "When the legion left they abandoned a lot of weapons in the courtyard." She drew a sword from the pile that ended in a jagged point after a foot. "Most aren't in any condition to be used, unfortunately. With the way things are we're apparently short on weapons so they asked anyone with smithing knowledge to pitch in." She sighed. "I'm the only person in our group that knows how to swing a hammer apparently so I've been stuck with the job."

Kiku nodded slowly as she took in the sheer amount of broken weapons that were being unloaded into the small smithy. Even as she watched another two handcarts were being wheeled around the corner of the temple, bringing it to a total of nine handcarts she could see. Who knew how many others had been unloaded before she'd arrived.

"I can help." She said.

"Wonderful." Emily smiled, "Do you remember how to stoke the fires?"

Kiku nodded. Emily had shown her earlier and it wasn't _that_ complicated. "Yep." She chirped.

"Excellent. Get one of the aprons and start heating the forge then." Emily said.

It took a couple minutes to dig one of the heavy leather aprons out from under a pile of broken steel spearheads, then things got really busy for the next several hours. There wasn't much time to talk between keeping the flames hot, sorting the piles of weapons for the more easily salvageable pieces, and getting quick lessons on how to be a smith.

She found that bashing metal into a 'proper' shape was actually quite relaxing.

Eventually, Emily called a halt in the mid-afternoon as she quenched the blade they were working on in water. She checked the blade for warping and smiled. "No warping, good. Let's take a short break." Emily said, setting the blade aside.

Kiku nodded and flumped onto one of the handful of stools in the smithy. She brushed one sweat-matted lock of hair out of her eyes. Turned out beating metal into shape wasn't just fun, it was also exhausting. She looked around the room and groaned. "We've barely made a dent in these things." She sighed. The piles of broken weapons had actually grown since her arrival.

Emily chuckled and sipped from a water bottle. "We've dealt with the easy ones at least." She said, gesturing to the small pile of blades and spearheads that they had completed. "Quick polish and they'll be ready to go." She swirled the water in her water bottle as Kiku nodded. "So, wasn't your mom going to have a talk with you?"

Kiku rolled her eyes. "She did." She said.

"And?" The older girl prodded.

"She wanted to lecture me on what not to do in a war zone," Kiku said. Really it was a boring lecture. 'Don't leave the fortress', 'don't get in the way of the soldiers', 'listen when an officer orders you to do something, or not do something', really boring stuff.

Emily paused and cocked her head. "Why does your mom know this sort of thing?" She asked.

Kiku shrugged. "I don't know. She gets like this sometimes. 'Don't climb the house.' 'Don't throw sandwiches at girls who annoy you.' 'Don't pull the pin on the fabergé hand grenade.' It gets annoying." She sighed. Emily stared at her for a long moment. "What?" Did she have something on her face?

Emily stared for another long moment before shaking her head. "Nevermind." She said, "So she doesn't have any issues with you doing this?"

"Nope." She chirped. Which was actually true for once. Her mother seemed to think a forge was the safest place for her.

"Well, let's get back to work then," Emily said, setting the water bottle aside. "By the way, where is your mom?"

Kiku shrugged. "Somewhere. Said she had a few things to take care of. Looked kinda serious too." She said.

Emily contemplated it for a moment before she turned to the forge. "Now from here on out we're going to be doing more actual forging than just hammering things back into shape." She said as she picked up a snapped spearhead. "Come here and let's try to find a few pieces of good steel in this mess."

Kiky hopped off her stool and smile as she ran over.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma pushed open the door to the war room to find a rather odd sight. A large muscular old man with one milky white eye was holding up a teacup and a string to Ryu; Sergeants Ito, Akiyama and Taylor; Shin Arai and Zeriah. The man was talking about the optimal set up for… improvised trip mines?

"What are you doing?" She asked, drawing all attention to her.

The large man hastily put the teacup down. "Lady Castellan." He bowed to her, an act followed by the rest of the room. The man's accent was atrocious, his words were nearly incomprehensible under what sounded like a Scottish accent. A really thick one. "We were just enlightening the Sergeant here," he gestured to Sergeant Taylor, "about the advantages of gunpowder."

The former Realm Sergeant nodded. "Assuming they aren't having me on it sounds quite terrifying." He said.

Ranma walked over to the table, letting Guon Fan into the room, and examined the map. "Where are you planning on getting gunpowder?" She asked Ryu.

"Making it from scratch, mainly," Ryu said.

"Do we have time for that?" Ranma asked thinking about what she knew about black powder. It could take a while to get anything made, assuming they managed it without blowing themselves sky high.

"Anything we make takes the pressure off our limited explosives stockpile," Akiyama replied.

Behind them, the Scotsman introduced himself to Guon Fan. "Sergeant James Roberts, formerly of Her Majesty's Royal Highland Fusiliers. Might I ask your name milady?"

Ignoring the conversation that had immediately devolved into a sickeningly flirtatious back and forth Ranma instead focused on the heavily annotated map. "Where were you planning on using the gunpowder?" She asked.

Ryu tapped the Canal Gate district. "Primarily in the Canal Gate area. Rig the lower piers and prep traps in any buildings we don't include in the palisade." He said, "We're also planning to prepare traps if it looks like we're going to be forced out of the lower city."

Ranma's eyes flickered across the notations absorbing the marked out palisade, circumvallation fortifications, and estimated ranges of siege weapons. "Guon Fan." She called, interrupting the increasingly debauched conversation behind her, "How far do your siege engines go?"

The woman paused mid-word. "Depends on what we build." She said, "Most galleys mount ballista or smaller catapults. Say, a thousand to a thousand four hundred for the ballista. Up to a nine hundred at most for the catapults we usually build."

Ranma nodded as she added a couple notations to the map.

"Guon Fan? You're from the shipwrights guild, correct?" Ryu said.

Guon Fan smiled and bowed. "That I am. Guildmaster of Greyfalls true pride." She said with a flourishing bow. "My boys and I have just been hired on by your Lady Castellan."

Ryu looked to Ranma and raised an eyebrow. "Really."

She glanced up at him and rolled her eyes. "She came with an offer and we need people who know what they're doing." She said.

"They know how to build siege equipment?" The historian Shin Arai asked.

"Mostly for shipboard use." The Guildmaster replied.

"Have your people ever constructed a counterweight trebuchet?" Shin asked.

"Twice. Horrible choice for a ship." Guon Fan replied, as she walked over to the table and examined the map. "Told the commissioners that when they ordered. They both insisted they had a design to fix the problem. The first one flipped the ship. The second snapped the keel in two and killed half the crew."

A few seconds of silence met her story. "I assume you can build them on land just fine though?" Ranma asked.

Guon Fan chuckled and pulled the wine bottle from her sleeve. She pulled out a pair of small mugs and poured some into both, holding one out to the Scottish sergeant. The man took his with a drawled thank you. "My boys can build on land just fine. A trebuchet is just a counterweighted catapult at the end of the day. Bigger, taller and with a wider stay the fuck out area, but really just a catapult." She said.

The Shipwright tapped the map. "Also you've got your ranges wrong. Vanehan Engineers know shit about siege weapons. They barely have anything worth being called an engineer." She said between sips of her wine.

"What should we expect then?" James asked as everyone turned their attention to the Guildmaster.

The woman tapped the circumvallations on the far bank. "They might put some ballista there, but that's it. Nothing else will have the reach to make the walls. If they tried to build a trebuchet I'd expect it to fling itself at us instead of the rocks. Won't get far doing that." Her finger moved to the southern side of the city. "Move these ones closer by a couple hundred feet. Expect catapults, but don't expect anything too big. More importantly, I'd be surprised if they're capable of flinging anything really capable of breaking the walls on the merchant district. Nooji or mist-town, sure. Merchant district walls are a different story though."

"Why's that?" Ryu asked.

Guon Fan sipped her wine. "Ignoring just how shit their siege weapons are the Merchant district walls were built four hundred years ago and intended to last forever. They've been kept in good shape and were both designed and built by some of the best the Realm could bring in. They're meant to resist essence weapons, not just a few measly rocks. Lower city walls are… eh, well they're the original walls for the entire city. They weren't built as anything more than a stop-gap. The entire lower city just got cut out of the plan when they were building the inner city walls. Probably didn't have the money, or just didn't care. Neither would surprise me." She added a few notes in Realm to the map showing where she figured the siege weapons would be built.

"Much shorter than I would have expected given what we've seen so far," Shin said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Based that on what Greyfalls seemed like, right?" Guon Fan asked. At the historian's nod, she shook her head. "Few things you should keep in mind, first, the Realm is the most advanced nation in the world. Second, a satrapy as important as Greyfalls gets the best gifts. The Realm has the best equipment and more lore from the first age than any nation other than Lookshy. Greyfalls is not a normal kingdom around here. Vaneha is far closer to the norm than we are."

"More iron weapons, less steel then?" The historian asked.

"Hmm, pretty much yeah." She replied.

Ranma took in the redrawn map. It was starting to get a bit cluttered outside the City's walls. "Does this change your plans at all?" She asked Ryu.

The Lieutenant looked at the map for a moment. "Not terribly much. We won't need to worry about a wall breach more than likely, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't prepare for the possibility." He said, getting agreement from the sergeants.

The Scottish Sergeant set his empty cup on the table. "Since your here Lady Castellan." He said politely, if in a vaguely hard to understand accent. "I've got a question that has been bugging me for the last couple of hours."

Ranma looked at him. "Go ahead." She said.

The Sergeant drew himself up. "It's just, well, what's our command structure? Whose in charge of the troops?" He asked, getting plenty of confused looks. The man continued, "I served in the British Army for seventeen years before I lost my eye and not once have I ever laid eyes on a more piecemeal showing than we've got outside. We've got one group of men with training who _might,_ and I stress _might_ , be loyal to you who are a bunch of abandoned enlisted without officers. We've got a bunch of NCOs from another military being led by a lieutenant, and while they're trying to organize things there's no guarantee anyone is actually going to listen. None of them own you an ounce of loyalty and officially there's no actual decision on who's in charge of what. I've seen commands fail trying to make sense of lesser fuck up than this."

Before Ranma could respond with a "Look at him, not me" and point the issue at Ryu Sergeant Taylor spoke up. "That's been a question I've been getting from my men all day." He said. He leaned forward against the table. "My men agreed to follow your lead Lady Castellan, but other than that where does everyone fall in this mess? What authority do my men have, whose orders must they obey? We've been trying to keep out of each other's way, but that's not going to work for long. We need a chain of command, officers for the men to follow."

Ranma massaged her forehead and shot a look at Ryu. They'd been so busy that they had not even considered this. That and Ranma hadn't really wanted to get involved in the war side of things.

The Dawn sighed. "We haven't talked about it yet. I've just been operating on the assumption Ryu would handle it." She said.

"Well it's not something I can just handle," Ryu said, pulling up a chair from the side of the room. As he sat down the others began brining over chairs. Ranma muttered a thank you to Sergeant Taylor as the man brought over a chair for her before standing next to her.

Once everyone was settled the Lieutenant continued. "I'm a Lieutenant in the JGSDF. My men and I have sworn oaths to defend Japan and its people. I can help you, but officially I can't do anything else. I've been taking charge of the planning because it's really all I can do."

"The Lieutenant is right Castellan." Sergeant Ito said, "we can help, but we can't lead. We're JSDF, not one of your people."

Ranma sighed. They were right on that count. She glanced over a Guon Fan who mimed locking her lips and throwing the key away before pouring a fresh cup of wine and leaning back to enjoy what she clearly considered some form of entertainment. No help would be forthcoming from her.

"We can, actually." Akiyama said.

"Excuse me?" Ito asked, "Regulations are clear on this. We're on foreign soil. Only reason we can take action is the defense of the Japanese Civilians here."

The older sergeant sighed exasperatedly and shared a look with the Scotsman. "Bit slow, aren't they?" James said with a drawl.

Ito and Ryu looked from one to the other. The Lieutenant only looked a bit confused while the Sergeant was beginning to adopt a downright furious expression. "No, no, and let me repeat myself." He said, "Hell no. I refuse."

Akiyama nodded. "That is your right of course Staff Sergeant." The Sergeant Major said.

"For those of us who aren't sergeants, would you explain?" Ranma prompted with an annoyed tone.

"He's suggesting we abandon the JSDF." Ito snarled. Ryu turned to face his second.

"Certainly one way of viewing it." Akiyama agreed easily before leaning forward with his elbows on the table. "Look, there is no JSDF."

"That statement needs clarification Sergeant," Ryu said, his attention turned fully to the older man. "I distinctly remember signing up."

"Back home there is a JSDF." Akiyama said, "There is an army of two hundred and fifty thousand people armed with the latest weapons and technologies that protects an island nation of one hundred and twenty million people. That army is the JSDF. That army is not here. It has no way of getting here, nor do we know of a way to get to it. In all practicality, we are eighty men and women who were _once_ part of the army known as the JSDF. Once. Now, what are we? Eighty heavily armed men and women protecting one hundred and fifty scared civilians and whoever else just so happens to be here."

"There's more to the JSDF than numbers or weapons or training." Ito snapped, "We took an oath."

"An oath we can no longer fulfill." Akiyama cut him off. "Where is Japan? Where are its people?"

"Here! Out there!" Ito gestured out the windows at the seething mass of humanity that was filling the rapidly darkening courtyard. Already Ranma could see lamps being lit and torches prepared.

"Yes, here! All one hundred and fifty of them. Cowering behind walls waiting for an army that we cannot stop alone. An army that will kill fifty thousand people just because of who ruled this city." The Sergeant Major stood up, pushing back his chair. " Let us assume we win. Then what? What point do we have as an organization? Do the eighty of us dedicate ourselves to protecting those one hundred and fifty? Tell me, Sergeant. What. Do. We. Do?"

The other sergeant's mouth opened and closed a few times.

"You don't have an answer, because there isn't one," Akiyama as he began to pace. "We have continued to operate as JSDF soldiers in the hope that this will be temporary. Perhaps it is. Perhaps in an hour, we will find ourselves back home and we can pretend this as a horrible dream. Perhaps it will happen in a day, a week, a month. Perhaps we must merely defeat the army at our doorstep and we will be whisked away to our homes and our loved ones."

Ito bristled at the rebuke inherent in the Sergeants words and made to stand up when Akiyama turned and slammed his fist into the table with enough force that Ranma could hear splintering wood. "Or maybe we will never go home." He snarled into the other sergeants face, forcing the man back into his seat through sheer presence. "We know nothing about our arrival. We have no hints, no clues. We know _nothing_." A soft flicker of red light began to swirl around him, tickling Ranma's skin with a dull heat and drawing a frown from Guon Fan.

Akiyama sighed, his presence not deflating so much as it saddened. "We know nothing about our future. It is in our best interests to proceed as though what we fear most will happen. That we will be here for the rest of our lives. We cannot live our lives as though this is merely a bad dream that we will wake up from at any moment." He finished.

Ranma leaned on her left elbow as she waited to see what the other's reactions would be. This was a problem that she hadn't see coming, even if she probably should have in hindsight. After a few moments of silence, Ryu reached up and began to massage his forehead. "Your suggestion then?" He asked.

Akiyama turned to Ranma. "My suggestion is that we accept facts and adapt to the practicalities of the situation. As Sergeant Taylor said we're lacking a chain of command, but we aren't lacking soldiers to fill it."

"What the man is saying," Sergeant Roberts spoke up, "And in a more poetic way than he really needs to, is if you're willing to offer them commissions in this army your building Lady Castellan."

The redhead sighed. "I figured that much myself." She said, looking to Ryu and Ito.

The other sergeant looked lost before realizing that she was looking at him. In an instant his face went from slack to angry, building on furious. "No." He said, standing up. "Hell no, I'm not participating in this- this- treason."

"Then what are you going to do Sergeant?" Akiyama asked, "The people you swore to protect are here, and you aren't a man to run off."

Sergeant Ito looked angrily around the room, seeing no support from the rest of them he headed for the door.

"Sergeant!" Ryu shouted, standing.

"FUCK YOU!" Was the last thing anyone heard clearly before the door slammed shut behind the angry Sergeant.

"And he's gone," Ranma said with a groan. "We don't need this." Infighting amongst the JSDF could very well kill them.

"No, we really don't." Ryu scowled angrily before turning to Akiyama. "Recall everyone and set guards on the supplies and vehicles. I don't want him running off with anything we need. Get the Legionnaires to keep people away if you need." He glanced at Ranma who nodded her assent. "Then get everyone into the dining hall we used for yesterday's meeting. We're dealing with this now. Get moving"

"Sir." Akiyama saluted, then left at a sprint.

Ryu sighed and sat back down heavily. He shot the Scottish Sergeant a glare. "Did you have to do this _now!_ " He snapped.

"When did you want this to happen?" The Scotsman drawled, "Tomorrow? Next Week? Perhaps when the Vanehan army is crawling through the wreckage of the Merchant district? That man doesn't like this situation. I'm surprised you didn't order him detained."

Ryu sighed. "I understand where he's coming from. Oaths are very important." He said.

"You're worried whoever you sent would side with him," Ranma observed. The Lieutenant nodded wearily.

"The last thing we need is for people to start shooting at each other. The damage that would do to morale. Gods." Ryu sighed. The Lieutenant looked at her. "What are you offering?"

Ranma blinked, put two and two together, and sighed. "The question what do we need isn't it." She said.

Sergeant Roberts leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the table. "Then perhaps its time we talked about how your army is going to be organized Lady Castellan. We'd better hurry though, I doubt we have much time." He said.

Ranma nodded before glancing at Guon Fan and Shin Arai. "This probably won't have anything to do with you so if you wouldn't mind heading off. There'll be a meeting this evening. Get the time from Staedtler down in the City Hall. Also if you wouldn't mind getting your people to start scouting out appropriate places for our own siege weapons I'd appreciate it." She said.

"Of course," Shin said, standing and making his way to the door. "I'll see what help I can offer elsewhere for the moment."

Guon Fan saluted with her cup and stood up. "Of course." She patted Ranma on the arm. "I'll show myself out." She started for the door, only to stop and turn around. She produced a few shot glasses and set them on the table. "You'll probably want this more than me." She smiled and left.

Ranma stared at the shot glasses for a moment. Why did she think she would need shot glasses?

"This was wine a moment ago, right?" Ranma looked up to where Sergeant Roberts was looking over the wine bottle except it was full of an amber liquid that was clearly _not_ wine.

"I could have sworn it was empty." Sergeant Taylor said as Roberts shrugged and pried the cork out before taking a sniff.

"Ugh, well this smells quite potent." He said before pouring out four glasses and pushing one to each of them as Sergeant Taylor sat down. "Now, let's get to work shall we?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Sergeant Ito stomped his way up the stairs towards the fourth-floor room he had been given to stay in. His boots cracked against the marble with each heavy step. He was muttering under his breath. Curses, insults and more foul terms spilled forth under his breath.

He paused as he heard running feet. He peered over the railing and growled as he saw Old Man Akiyama taking the stairs down two at a time. He barely held back from shouting curses at the old fool. He was probably was heading off to secure the cars or armory. Not that he needed to worry. Sergeant Ito was angry, but he wasn't a deserter. Not like them.

He stomped his way up the last few steps and headed down the empty hallway to his room. The last few days had been infuriating. Taking orders from the brat had been one thing. The chain of command was the chain of command after all. However, when the damned fool had thrown their lot in with Saotome without even considering things.

A nearby vase suffered a violent end as he threw it into the wall.

He took a long, shaky breath. He needed control. He was a soldier and a soldier was in control. His rage abate ever so slightly as he continued onto his room.

The door bounced in its frame as he slammed it shut and began to robotically search his room for his rifle. He needed space to think, space to calm down, and he wasn't going to get it in the fortress He wasn't enough of a fool to head out only armed with his service pistol.

He found the rifle where he'd stored it in one of the spare drawers. Lifting it out he mechanically checked it over. Everything looked fine.

"Two days." He breathed angrily, a hitch in his voice. "Two fucking days was all it took. Damned fool. Didn't even try to find a way before giving up." He dug out the magazines and slid them into place before heading for the door.

He locked the door behind him with the key the servants had given him before heading for the stairs down. Along the way, a familiar young man clad in full JGSDF kit rounded the corner at the stairs end of the hallway.

"Sergeant." Private Tanaka called, "They're looking for you."

Of course, they were. "I know." He said, stopping just in front of the young private. "Do you know why?" He asked.

The young man shook his head. "Just said they needed to talk." He said.

Ito snorted. "Am I to be detained?" He asked. It would be the sensible thing after he stormed out. To his surprise, the private shook his head.

"No, sir." The Private said. "Orders are to inform you that the Lieutenant will be addressing everyone in the dining hall in about an hour or so."

So he wasn't hunted. At least there was that. "Thank you Private." He said before walking past the young man.

"Sir, where are you going?" The Private asked. By the sounds of the boy's footsteps he had started following him.

"For a walk." He said, "I need to clear my head."

"Around the walls?"

Ito stopped and looked at the young man. "Around the City. As I said, I need to clear my head. No going to get the chance around here." He said.

"I should go with you then." The Private said.

"I'll be fine," Ito said, resuming his walk to the stairs.

The boy continued to follow. "The City isn't secure. Orders are no one head out without someone accompanying them." He said.

Ito groaned softly. "Fine, just keep up then." He said as he stomped down the staircase.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It took an hour and a half before Akiyama came to retrieve Ryu from the war room. An hour and a half of debating the precise structure of the Greyfalls army. Also, several shots of the strongest whisky Ryu had ever had.

"Is everything ready sir?" Akiyama asked as they walked down the hall to the stairs.

Ryu snorted and looked at the small pile of papers he had tucked under one arm. "Maybe. Maybe not. Sergeant do you have any idea the shitstorm you just helped kickstart?" He asked looking at the older man.

To his credit, the man looked slightly abashed. "I do." He said, "It needed to be said sir."

"Not even two full days. Two days, Sergeant. No wonder Ito exploded." Ryu sighed. "We haven't even tried to look for a way home yet. We just haven't had the time."

The older man nodded. "I understand, but just because we're doing this doesn't mean we don't look for a way home." He said.

"Two days. This couldn't have waited a week?" Ryu asked.

"Two days of maybe seven sir." Akiyama countered, "We're operating on a tight clock. The sooner we get organized the better we can respond to the threat."

They entered the main hall and Ryu stopped by the railing before turning to the Sergeant. "I get that, but there were other ways to go about this. We might have just lost one of our most effective soldiers." Ryu said.

"I could have handled that better, I will admit," Akiyama replied, taking a moment to look down at the nearly empty hall. "But the question had been raised and every day we put off handling it we would have damaged our ability to organize."

Ryu nodded. The joint command they had been trying to organize hadn't been held together by anything more than good faith and desperation. It might have held up long enough to hold the city, but then again questions of who was in command of what could have crippled their ability to respond to rapid developments.

"I'm out of my depth." He said, leaning against the railing. "Sergeant Major I am completely out of my depth. I'm barely even a Lieutenant. I nearly got thrown out entirely before I could even graduate and now I'm expected to organize this _mess_." He held out the stack of papers to the Sergeant who took them and started to flip through.

After a couple minutes, the older man looked up from them. "Your handwriting is terrible." He deadpanned.

Ryu snorted. "Can you read it, or do I need to translate?" He snarked.

"I can read just fine. I've read worse scrawls than yours." He flipped through a couple more pages. "This seems rather complete to be honest. A lot more than I expected out of an hour and a half of work."

Ryu shrugged. "Everything seemed to go smoother after the second shot of whisky." He said.

"Whisky?" Akiyama asked, "You've been drinking."

Ryu shrugged. He'd only had three shots. The only person who'd had more was Roberts, and that man hadn't seemed to notice even after five. "Only a couple shots." He said.

Akiyama sighed and glanced over the papers. "I notice there's nothing in here about you. The Castellan is offering me a Colonel's commission, but nothing on you." He said.

"She offered me overall command," Ryu said.

"Congratulations."

The Lieutenant chuckled wryly. "I haven't accepted yet. Not sure if I should. Told her you should have it." He said.

"I'm a Sergeant, not an officer," Akiyama replied.

"You are now." Ryu quipped, "You don't get to use that response anymore."

Akiyama sighed. "I supposed I asked for that." He admitted, "Still, I'm not looking to take command from you."

Ryu shot him an exasperated look. "Akiyama, I'm not fit for this. I've got the training, but I never even.. This took me completely by surprise. I have the training, but I don't have the experience. You do." He said.

"With respect, that's bullshit." Akiyama said bluntly, "I have never commanded more than a platoon. I barely have more actual combat experience than you. I'm a peacetime NCO, have been my entire life. Frankly, sir, the only thing I have over you is another thirty years." He held out the stack of papers. "Besides I'm pretty sure most of them would mutiny if I tried to take command."

Ryu took the papers and gave the other man an incredulous look. "You think so?" He asked, "It's only been two days. They can't think that well of me."

"You'd be surprised." Akiyama clapped him on the shoulder. "Just have some faith for once. You can handle this. You've been handling it just fine so far."

"Two days," Ryu repeated.

"Two months." Akiyama replied, "You've been handling this for two months. You can handle it just fine."

Ryu frowned, but nodded. "We should get going." He said to change the subject.

They started back down the stairs in silence. Soon they reached the floor below, where most of the eighty-eight JSDF soldiers were waiting for them. Men and women snapped to attention as they caught sight of them.

Walking down the hallway lined on either side with saluting soldiers felt like he was either walking to an award ceremony or his execution.

"Everyone into the dining room," Ryu ordered loudly as he reached the doorway. He stepped through to find the corporals and sergeants already inside. They rose as he entered. "Everyone sit." He ordered as he headed for the head of the long dining table.

Once everyone was settled he took a quiet moment to take stock of who had attended. One person was distinctly absent. "Has anyone seen Sergeant Ito?" He asked.

"He exited the main fortress gate over an hour and a half ago sir." Corporal Kita said, "He was accompanied by Private Tanaka. Said he was going for a walk to clear his head."

Ryu sighed. "Well in the interests of time then, we're going to have to start without him." He said. "Now, who here knows what this is about? Raise your hand." Unsurprisingly the Sergeants and Corporals raised their hands. A few other joined them, notably, Kawashima's entire fireteam was amongst them.

The Lieutenant nodded. "It was brought up in a meeting earlier today that there is a rather large issue with the organization of the forces we have been assembling. Namely that it doesn't have any." Mutterings came from more than a few people, but no one spoke up. "Right now we are Soldiers of the JSDF and while we are training and helping the people organize we represent an odd conundrum from an organizational standpoint. What authority do we actually have? What is our position? Who is to obey an order from one of us and who can tell us to 'fuck off.'"

He shuffled the papers in front of him and pulled out a single piece. "Right now our forces are us, the JSDF, the Legionnaires, and the Volunteer army. At the moment we and the Legionnaires have taken the role of trainers, but some of us have also been taking control of things as needed. Corporal Kita, I would like to thank you for your work in securing the Fortress, and the same goes to Corporal Tatsu for your actions as our ad-hoc quartermaster." He said, bowing his head to both. Both bowed back.

"However, things are going to get a lot more complicated and as was pointed out in our planning meeting this afternoon a divided command is doomed to fail at the worst time." He pulled out another paper. "We are pressed for time. The Vanehan army is days away and we don't have time for half measures. As part of these discussions I have been presented two options with which to share."

He paused and set some of the stack of paper aside. He held up what was left. "In here is an offer of commission for everyone here." He said, watching the room carefully. People up and down the table stirred uneasily. Not unexpected. The soldiers gathered here weren't fools, they knew what a commission was and the consequences associated with it.

"I realize that to many this must seem rather too soon. We haven't been here a week even." He said. In his mind's eye he could almost see the flickering flames of emotion that was dancing about the room. Like with the two men from Sergeant Ito's squad. Judging by their mutinous expressions they were inclined to just walk out of the room. Or punch him perhaps. What little respect he had earned from them was probably all that was keeping them in the room.

"I've had the same thoughts. We have no idea what brought us here and we could conceivably find ourselves home tomorrow just as easily as we found ourselves here." A few heads nodded, "How many people here believe that what brought us here can so easily be reversed?" He asked, "Raise your hands."

Not one hand was lifted from the table. "Well if nothing else we are in agreement about that." He sighed. "The first of the Lady Castellan's two offers is, as I said, an officer's commission within the ranks of Greyfall's new army. Allow me to read off the specifics and then I'll get onto the other offer."

The room had settled into a tense, almost bubbling, atmosphere and grated against Ryu's senses as he started into the offer. "Starting from the top. Sergeant Major Akiyama is being offered a commission as a Colonel. Sergeants Ito, Matou, Mori and Maki are being offered commissions of Major."

The three sergeants who were there shared considering looks. Matou, at least, looked intrigued.

"All corporals are being offered Captaincies. Private are being offered positions of First and Second lieutenant, depending on experience. Anyone with at least a year of service is being offered a first lieutenant's commission." He paused as he flipped the paper over. "Pay is to be determined at a later date as are regulations and uniform. One of those things that we simply don't have time or the local knowledge to deal with immediately. As for the rest." He held out the papers to Sergeant Mori. "Please pass that around. We only have the one copy at the moment. There's something of a lack of copiers around here so please be careful." A tense chuckle went around the room. The sort of chuckle that's not so much from humour as a need to relieve stress.

"Now the second offer." He lifted up the remaining papers. "We've all taken oaths of loyalty and duty. For many of us serving in the JSDF isn't just about being paid, it's about our honour and commitment to duty. It's about protecting people and ensuring the safety of Japan." More nods, more murmurs of agreement. "That first offer, I'm sure many of you feel that the Lady Castellan is asking you to betray your honour."

"It is." One of the privates in the back, a man from Ito's squad, finally said, standing. "We swore an oath. That's not something a man can just back down from." Most of his squad nodded along, and voiced their approval. Most. The lieutenant noticed that Corporal Tatsu had remained quiet, his face a thoughtful mask that hid his emotions.

"Do you still wish to protect the civilians of who came with us?" Ryu asked the private.

The man nodded. "I do sir, but not by turning my back on my oath." He said.

"Then the second offer I have is for you." Ryu replied picking up the paper in front of him. "The second offer is that those who refuse a commission may still participate as soldiers in the defence of the city, but you will be made into a separate unit under your own command. That command being whoever is the highest ranking member to not accept a commission." Ryu paused. "Mostly likely either myself or Sergeant Ito."

"You aren't taking a commission sir?" Corporal Kawashima asked from her spot.

Ryu sighed. "I am still deciding." He said. Oaths, honour. He had so little these days to begin with. A soft murmur filled the room and many people frowned.

"And I will be taking a Commission." Akiyama said from beside Ryu, "I was the one to bring up the idea. I will follow through on it." The older man stood. "This is a grave act. I realized that when I first proposed it. To follow through is treason. But we have a duty that is greater than loyalty to a country. We have a duty to protect, to defend and to guard."

Ryu kept one eye on the rest of the room as he listened to his second speak. More than a few people were sitting straighter, leaning forward to listen to the older man. Ryu would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling the passion Akiyama was putting into is argument. It blazed like a flame that was spreading across the room, from person to person.

"We cannot continue to meet the obligation as just soldiers of JGSDF. The army out there," he flung a hand towards the windows, "needs leadership. It needs experience. We have that and we can give it to them. We can't hold this city alone, can't protect our charges by ourselves. But with their aid we can. There are thousands of men and women who have answered our call, and I will not leave them alone without guidance. Taking an officer's commission is the best way to provide that guidance. They will know that we are there with them. That we stand for them and their homes just as much as they themselves do." He slammed an open palm onto the tabletop and everyone jumped at the loud noise. "This is more than about just ourselves. This is about the future of this city and its people. I ask you to join me in making sure that this city has a chance for a future." The barest flicker of flames began to float around him and Ryu could feel a shimmer of heat.

The Sergeant-Major paused before turning to Ryu. "But I do not wish to do this without you sir. You've led us well thus far, and I believe you can continue to do so."

Ryu sat there for a long moment feeling the burning weight of eighty plus men and women staring at him from around the room. Each one watching to see which way he went. Ryu looked up at his second in command. The older man had been something of a mentor for him over the last six months and had provided quite a bit of good advice that had helped him get through the mess he had caused.

"I-" Ryu paused then nodded solemnly. "I will take a commission." He said. These people were looking to him now, and he needed to set the example he wished them to follow. He turned to the room. "But as he said, we can't do this alone. Who here will join me? Which of you will follow us?"

Kawashima stood, her chair loudly scraping along the floor. "I will." She said, "I've seen the Castellan in action and I think I can trust her to do the right thing. She has my loyalty, as do you sir."

Beside her Corporal Tatsu nodded to himself before standing. "Mine as well." He said, "We're cut off from Japan. We must adapt or be overcome."

Corporal Kita stood next. "I see no reason to change our course." She said. More people down the line began to stand as well, some voicing agreement, other's simply nodding along.

Ryu turned to the sergeants who were conferring quietly. "Gentlemen?" He asked.

The three turned to him, then back to each other, before Mori said something quiet to the other two and they both nodded. As one they stood. "We'll take commissions." Mori said loudly. More chairs scraped backwards as more chimed in their decision.

When Ryu was done counting them all he found that only six, all members of Ito's team, had elected to take the second choice.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The war room was filled once again. Duke Staedtler and Governor Sung were sitting together to Ranma's right along with the ex-magistrates, who she really needed to figure out what their job was exactly. On her left sat Kodachi, much recovered and sipping a cup of tea; Ryouga, damp from the snow that had begun to fall a couple hours previously; and the newly promoted General Kumon Ryu.

Despite her own issues with him, he was, unfortunately, the only one with both the training needed and something resembling her trust. Resembling, since really she didn't trust him all that far. Maybe just as far as she could throw him. At best.

Beside him sat the rather overwhelmed Captain Ragara Lockler, who was still wearing that stunned face from when she'd informed him of his promotion; and Captain Taylor, who had insisted on nothing higher. He seemed to believe anything higher would impede his ability to relate to his men.

At the far end of the Table were the new additions to their meeting. Doctor Zutter Elina of the Red Cross and Shin Arai formerly of the Tokyo Museum. With them was Colonel Akiyama who was engaged in a conversation with the doctor.

Guon Fan had taken a chair away from the table and was holding a chat with the very much not ordinary raven Leitleen who was perched on a convenient lamp.

Ranma rapped her knuckles on the table, drawing attention to her. "Well, today has been, eventful." She sighed. A few people chuckled.

"If things stopped happening today it would be an eventful year," Lily muttered.

Ranma nodded. "Well, it's not going to." She said, "What did you and Ryouga find?"

Lily sighed and pulled out her notes. "The woman we found dead had definitely taken Mnemmon's flying body to the back of her head while she was in the middle of a summoning ritual. What she was trying to summon I can't tell. It was demonic in nature, but the circle she was using was too damaged to make out if it was a specific being she was trying to get." She flipped a few pages and held up a drawing for everyone to see. "For those of you who can't read the writing what I can make out has a few too many references to blood and shadows for my liking." She set it down. "Judging by the bodies I'd say she summoned something, but what and when I can't say. I couldn't even tell if it was still around."

Zeriah groaned. "There is nothing so insidious as a demon that's gone to ground." He complained, "If we weren't preparing for a siege I'd tell you to make it our first priority your grace."

Ranma nodded. Her own experiences with demons and spirits said as much. "Keep looking for it. Feel free to ask Ryu for what help you need." Ryu tipped his head politely.

"As you wish." Lily sighed, pointedly ignoring Ryouga's chuckle at her discomfort.

"Now," Ranma looked to the Duke and Governor. "How're things going in the City?"

Staedtler leaned forward. "A few functionaries and Councilor Wei Bu stayed behind. He's a longtime Realm supporter, but he's agreed to help us organize our response to this threat." He said, "His men have been great help taking stock of our resources. It'll be a couple days though before we can confirm everything."

"And the candidates for the east and south?" Ranma asked.

Staedtler shuffled a few papers around. "We weren't able to come up with anyone for the south." He admitted, "However Sung did manage to speak with someone promising for the east."

"Arya Swati. A Nuri whose family is rather important in the east. With the departure of the Realm, they would have direct control of the only iron mine in the country." Sung said, "Elevating her to such a position would tie her and her families resources back to you, and they do hold quite a bit of sway in the region. Enough to raise an army certainly."

"She won't turn on us?" Ranma asked.

"I've dealt with her and her family before." Staedtler said, "They are reliable."

"Do we have another option?" Zeriah asked, "Or is this the only one you've located?"

"Unsurprisingly, today has been very busy for both of us." Staedtler said, "We had limited time to search for candidates. Unfortunately, the south is far less united than the east or north. Bengtsson held a great deal of influence and with him gone it may as well be open season. I couldn't find two of his former supporters who would be willing to agree on anything."

Ranma winced. That did not bode well. "Then we go with your pick." She said to Sung, who nodded.

"I accept any responsibility should this choice prove poor." He said, bowing his head. "There is one more matter I need to raise."

"Go ahead."

Sung toyed with something in his hands before sighing. "At the request of my daughter, I would ask if you would take her as a one of your Ladies-in-waiting." He asked.

"Excuse me?" Staedtler stared at Sung who sighed.

Ranma groaned and ignored the look Ryouga was sending her. At the far end of the table Elina and Guon Fan were both concealing their amusement badly. Snickers were leaking from the latter quite a bit.

"You realize that would require her to stay behind, right?" Staedtler asked Sung.

"I'm well aware." The normally quiet man snapped before sighing again. "My daughter insists. She wishes to stay behind. She says that if she stays people will never lose hope that help is coming since I would never abandon her." He rubbed his forehead. "Even asking this hurts."

"She wants this?" Ranma asked. A lady-in-waiting was like an assistant, wasn't it? She could use one of those, but oh god she did not want anything more to tie her to the idea of being a 'queen'.

Fate seemed to have other ideas.

"She asked me specifically, and she argued it well." Sung said, "I would normally never consider such a thing, but hope is something that can become in short supply during a siege. Even that implicit promise could do quite a bit. So I ask… Will you make her one of your ladies-in-waiting?"

"I don't exactly have _a_ lady-in-waiting," Ranma commented as she thought it over.

"It's not a bad idea." Kodachi said quietly from her side, "Having someone on hand who can deal with things for you is never bad, and she's about our age."

Ranma nodded at Kodachi's point.

"She wants this?" Ranma repeated, eying the Governor who nodded.

"She does." He said, honestly to her eyes.

"Then I accept. I promise she will be safe when you return." Ranma promised, before returning to the primary subject at hand. "That still leaves us without a southern governor."

"The south is going to be under siege soon as well," Ryu noted. "Without a strong hand in charge, it could go poorly."

"We were already planning on sending a team south anyway." Ranma said, "Could they manage the situation down there themselves? They only need to hinder the Vanehan troops not establish control."

"Control could be established in the Spring once we've sent the Vanehan army away," Zeriah said.

"They're soldiers, not diplomats." Ryu said, "Look even if we don't send a Governor in their direction, what about an ambassador? Someone who can speak on our behalf?" Staedtler leaned over to Sung and the two began a quiet debate.

"It can't be Lily or I." Zeriah said, "Neither of us would be trusted by the south. The General is needed here. Really everyone here is either bound somewhere else or needed here."

"Perhaps," Elina said, "we should consult the other travelers? Someone with a political or business background would be perfect for this."

"Ryu, could you have someone look into that this evening?" Ranma asked.

He nodded. "We'll have it done."

"Well then," Ranma sighed, "Ito."

The General shook his head. "Came back an hour ago. Still says no." He said.

"And the rest?" Ranma asked.

"Everything from ecstatic to uncertain." He said, "They'll adapt. We'll finish the reorganization tomorrow. What I have done is assign Major's Mori and Maki along with two fire teams to accompany the Governors on their trips. They'll stay and help train our reinforcements. As for the south I've ordered Captain Kawashima and her fireteam to prepare for a long trip. All three groups are going to be making use of our vehicles. Should speed things along."

"So long as they don't crash." Ryouga said, "It's snowing out there now."

"We've taken that into account." Ryu said.

"What about supplies?" Ranma asked.

"The warehouses have been emptied and their contents have been added to the main armory. Other than that we got lucky. One of the civilians who came with us knows blacksmithing. She's been repairing or making new weapons out of the scrap left behind by your fight." Ryu said, "We should be in good straights. Even with the number of people joining up."

"How many are we looking at?" Zeriah asked.

"More than we expected. A lot more. Last count I had put it at over twenty-five hundred. The expectation is that we'll hit five thousand before tomorrow afternoon." Ryu said.

"Manning the walls won't be a problem." Akiyama said, "Training the defenders will be."

Ranma nodded. That would definitely be the problem. Five thousand or more people in a handful of days… Ideas flickered in the back of her mind for how she might be able to speed that along. She pushed them aside for the moment. It was something to consider later.

"Now," She said, "What about our other preparation?" As first one, then another advisor chimed in she lamented that she still hadn't had a chance to eat since lunch.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma closed the door to her quarters with a weary sigh. She had a few minutes to herself for the first time in… Well, the first time since she woke up at least. She felt exhausted, strung out and depleted from the constant series of meetings that were involved in trying to fix the mess they'd gotten themselves into.

She walked over to one of the sofas and collapsed across it with a sigh. Her stomach grumbled and she ignored it. The Twins were bringing her food in a few minutes, it could wait. She cuddled one of the throw cushions and glanced at the fireplace across from her. It crackled merily, but she found herself thinking that a TV would have probably been a better use of the spot. Not that this place had TVs, but she wished it did. Something mindless to watch would be perfect right then.

It would have been a perfect quiet moment really, except for one thing she had noticed the moment she had walked in. There was someone else in the room.

"You can come out now." Ranma said softly.

From the shadows of the hallway that led to the baths, a woman stepped out. She was only a little taller than Ranma with long black hair that hung to her mid back. She was wearing some clothing that was clearly not local in origin, which meant she had probably come with them from Japan… She looked Japanese anyway. She bowed low.

"I apologize for the intrusion Lady Castellan." She said.

Ranma watched her through half-lidded eyes, ready to move in case the woman proved to be more than she seemed at first. Of course given how quietly she moved Ranma was willing to place good odds on 'assassin' and go from there. Well, that or ninja.

"What do you want?" The redhead asked tiredly. With a thought, her clothing shifted to a loose yukata decorated in gold-scaled dragons.

The woman rose from her bow before kneeling on the floor. "I am Hinagawa Miyu, formerly an Agent of the Chrysanthemum Throne." She said.

Ranma sat up. "Formerly." She said.

"Officially at least." Miyu allowed, "I retired to have a family. My daughter and I were brought here with everyone else."

"And this leads to you sneaking into my rooms….?" Ranma trailed off.

The woman slowly reached behind her and pulled out a folder before sliding it towards Ranma. "I am here to offer my services to you, Lady Castellan. It is the only thing I can contribute to help keep my daughter safe." She said.

Ranma reached out and plucked the folder from the floor. She flipped through the documents. What was inside was written, by hand, on a combination of standard 8 ½ x 11 lined paper and something rougher that must have been local manufacture.

She skimmed a couple of pages before counting them off. She flipped to several random pages. This… This was a lot of information. From a list of industries in the city to a list of materials and stockpiles each possessed. There were pages on the criminal underworld and even a three-page report on 'The Guild'.

"When did you start on this?" She asked. She couldn't have-

"This afternoon." Miyu smiled as Ranma's thoughts derailed.

"This is a lot," Ranma said as she sat back down.

"I felt an audition should demonstrate my skills." The older woman said, "After all, anyone can claim to be a spy. While I am a bit rusty I have done my best. Are my skills satisfactory?"

Ranma looked down at the inch and a half stack of paper and sighed. "Yes, they are. And yes we could use you…" She looked the spy/assassin/crazy-ninja-woman in the eye and added, "Why can't anyone just audition for these kinds of things without the theatrics?" She didn't even have the grace to look abashed, merely smiling mysteriously.

Ranma flipped the folder shut and put it on the table beside her. "There's a meeting in-"

"The morning, war room. Between 7 and 9 am, depending on when you get up. I know, I was listening." Miyu said.

Ranma's mouth clicked shut. Before she could say anything the door opened and Jasmine entered with a covered tray. Ranma looked towards her.

"Your dinner your Grace." She chirped as she set it down on the coffee table.

"Thank you," Ranma said, looking back to Miyu who was, to Ranma's complete lack of surprise, gone. In her mind, she added 'one crazy ninja lady' to the list of weird people she had run into since arriving.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Captain Kawashima Yuki hated the cold. Winter was her least favourite season. So, of course, they had to come to this strange place when it was _winter_. Cold, miserable _winter_.

"We're all loaded, Captain." Kawashima glanced over to Yori who was standing beside their transport. Since they were the ones headed into danger the General and Castellan had at least seen fit to give her team a pair of LAVs. They had had their mounted light machine guns removed, but they were armoured which was more than most of the other vehicles could say.

Also, it was odd being called Captain. Odd, but nice. It had been a long time since she got a promotion. "Good," Kawashima said to the young Lieutenant. "Our passenger?"

"Mrs. Hayabusa is stowed away ma'am," Koneko said from the other vehicle.

Kawashima looked over the two vehicles and smiled. It might have been cold, snowing, and miserable by the simple standard of it being winter, but at least she would have air conditioning.

She walked around to the passenger side of her vehicle and popped the door open. "Alright, pile in ladies, we're leaving." She shouted to her squad. They clambered into the vehicles and they rumbled to life. The crowds of the fortress yard slowly moved out of their way as the vehicles trundled towards the gates.

Trip down towards the front gate took a half hour as the bustling crowds that had taken to the streets slowed them down. People, animals, and carts swarmed here and there. Workmen were constructing guard posts and taking measurements of existing buildings. Men in black coats and hats with silver trim directed traffic at intersections and many of them worked to clear their path through the morning streets.

"A lot busier than yesterday." Yuri said as they reached the city gates. The guards waved them through.

"They're getting ready for a siege. If they aren't busy they'll be dead shortly." The Captain observed as she settled into her seat, a map unfolded in her lap.

"I suppose." The younger girl said thoughtfully.

"Don't worry too much. Just focus on driving for now. And keep us on the road for now. Let me know when we reach the first village." Kawashima leaned back into her seat and pulled down the brim of her hat. A nap would make the travels go quicker.


	11. Chapter 11

The sound of his boots rang off the stone walls as Captain Lockler walked down the fortress hallway towards the keep's armoury. Following at his heels came the young woman who had been assigned as his second in command, First Lieutenant Shimada Kaida, a former private with three years of experience in their self-defence force. He would be lying if the thought of giving orders to the Dragon-blooded young woman wasn't terrifying, but so far she seemed eager to learn.

As they walked, dodging around makeshift beds for the injured, his second was reading aloud the list of necessary equipment that their company had yet to be issued. She had been reading it since they left the palace and seemed to have only had zero issues maintaining a stream of unending words despite the crowded halls and having descended at least one flight of stairs.

"...in short sir. We've haven't even been issued enough sticks to actually start even putting all of our men through training on how to handle a spear. The only thing we've been issued properly is today's rations." She finished, sidestepping a rushing pair of soldiers carrying a large crate that clanged with ever step.

Lockler sighed. He had been given command of five hundred men to train and lead, all of them new as of late the night before. "The quartermaster better be out of weapons." He muttered. The boy had promised that their new stores of weapons would be sorted and distributed by breakfast. Now it was half-way through the morning. Still, he was one of the Dragon-Blooded…

He stifled a groan as they reached the armoury, its steel reinforced doors hung open and he could see the quartermaster surrounded by a small group of other dragon-blooded officers and mortal soldiers. He looked rather frazzled with his cloth uniform rumbled and his hands gesturing with urgency as he discussed whatever it was that had his attention. For a moment the former sergeant hesitated by the door. Usually, when the Realm had ruled Greyfalls, inserting yourself into the path of a harried Dragon-blood was a recipe for censure or punishment.

"Sir?" Kaida asked, and he spared a glance for the young woman.

Of course, he was now an officer. Of the same rank as the quartermaster in fact. He also had a second who he was supposed to set an example for. Cowardice and hesitation were poor behaviours to encourage. "He looks rather busy. Let's find out how things are going." He said before matching word to action and striding into the armoury, his boots thudding heavily on the floor. "Quartermaster!" He called.

The young quartermaster and the surrounding men and women all turned to him. The young man's eyes widening as he spotted the armoured captain before his head turned to a stack of crates and weapons off to one side. He cursed, loudly, before turning to Lockler again.

"Captain Ragara. Here for your weapons, I assume?" He asked, running a hand through his hair.

Lockler stopped by the large desk near which all the people had clustered. "Amongst other things, but it is a bit hard to train a man to stab people with a stick when you don't have sticks to train them with." He said, trying to keep his tone light and jesting. The young man chuckled politely.

"Yes, I suppose it would be." The young man ran a hand through his greasy hair. "I'll have my people bring your weapons down to you within the hour. I'm sorry I forgot to send your equipment down, but I've been rather busy today."

"We're all rather busy," Kaida said, "we are preparing for war after all." Lockler sent her a warning look and she stepped back. He'd talk to her about that later.

The Captain, however, didn't seem to notice the disrespect. Probably because he had been, until the day before, a mere corporal. He probably was not used to having authority yet. "Yes well, I've been dealing with something that isn't simply getting weapons into soldier's hands." He sighed and sat down at his desk.

"Can you two keep things quiet?" Tatsu asked.

"Is this some secret that we should know about?" Lockler asked, frowning. Knowing when to share something was as important as knowing if it was allowed to be shared.

The young man waved a hand in the air dismissively. "It's not a secret, but I'd prefer it not become common knowledge." He said, "We've had one of our own disappear."

"By one of our own, who do you mean exactly?" Lockler asked, a sinking feeling settling in as he considered the possibilities.

"One of us." He gestured to himself and the other dragon-blooded officers. "Last night Private Tanaka left the fortress with Sergeant Ito. He hasn't been seen since."

"What about the Sergeant?" Kaida asked, speaking up again. This time Lockler didn't give her a silent reprimand. It was a good question.

"I've spoken with him. We're still looking into his story. For the moment though, could the two of you keep an eye out for the private?" Tatsu asked.

"We can do that," Lockler said, nodding while making a mental note to talk to his other officers. This was something that they'd need more than just his and Kaida's eyes on. "Now, about my supplies."

The young man chuckled. "Let's get that organized before I get distracted again." He said.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter Eleven

Seductions of Broken Fate

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ryouga was conflicted as he lay curled on the marble tiles of the back courtyard, his head in his paws. Being conflicted was nothing new to him, it happened with regularity. Sometimes it was about Akane, other times Akari, or Ukyo, or one of the other girls he tended to run into. Really a lot of the uncertainty he tended to run in was about girls. Well girls or, like now, Ranma who just happened to be a girl for the foreseeable future. Which irritatingly combined both issues.

Ranma who happened to be the reason he was out in a snowy courtyard. Not that Ranma has asked for him to follow her outside and join her. No, he had done that himself when he had seen her headed outside into the early morning snow. He had decided to curl up in the corner of the courtyard beneath a large bush that only covered some of him and watch her twirl through the motions of kata after kata as the snow fell around him silently, though with his thick coat he barely felt the chill in the air. It just nipped a little at the tips of his ears and nose.

The center of the uncertainty he was feeling was a change he had noticed over the last few days that was centered on his old friend and rival. Friend… well, maybe not an old friend. He growled lowly to himself as he considered that idea. They had been friends of a sort when younger, but that was a time that was long separated by years of his own anger. Anger that had faded quite a bit over the last few years. Enough that maybe he could consider Ranma a friend again, though only just.

Which made what he was feeling even stranger.

He watched the redhead swirl, twirl, and dance through the motions of a tai-chi inspired kata with the grace of a peerless dancer, yet it was nothing he hadn't seen before. The kata was an old one he had seen even way back when Ranma and he attended the same boys school. He could do it just as well if he felt the need. Though, maybe not. Her steps seemed more precise, her motions more fluid. To the eyes of an ordinary observer it would be imperceptible, but to someone who knew her so well, who had fought many desperate battles with and against her, it was obvious. Her skills had been refined by exaltation beyond what even their talent could have managed.

And it had not even been three days.

It was not the inhumanly perfect grace and skill that drew his eyes. It was her eyes. For a moment, as she paused for the briefest second, their eyes met and the Lunar felt a shiver roll down his back as something behind them glinted and shimmered with a familiar and enchanting glow that he couldn't quite put a finger, or a paw, on. For that moment all he saw was her eyes glittering, her hair as it shimmered amidst the snowfall, and the swirling end of her braid.

Then their eyes parted as she spun away into the next strike of the kata. He shook his head and buried his snout under a paw. He ignored the cold sting of the snow as he jammed his nose into it.

The hell was wrong with him? It had started after that first quick nap he had taken on their first day. A quick snooze to catch up on some missing sleep. They'd fought through the entire night, and it wasn't like there was anything for him to do at that point. They were waiting for people to show up, and a nap was a perfectly fine way to waste time.

He couldn't remember that dream, if it even was a dream. All he remembered was red hair and blue eyes. The last couple of nights hadn't been any better. Dreams, long dreams, about… someone. Someone with red hair that shimmered in the light, and blue eyes that glinted with a hidden golden light. A light just like what he was seeing in Ranma.

That had been why he had consented to assist with investigating the deaths. Despite the danger, it gave him something to do, something that wasn't just spending his day staring at Ranma trying to figure out… figure out something. It was like he already knew whatever it was, but just couldn't remember. It was frustrating in the same way as when he couldn't find the damned door. Like he should know this, but didn't. Somehow.

A foot came down upon the end of his tail. It didn't hurt, but it did snap him out of his mental loop as instinct reared its head and he sprang to his paws with a growl on his lips as he twisted to face whoever had just stepped on him. He stopped, his lips curled back enough to reveal the long canines he had grown, as he found himself face to face with a startled and scared young woman.

"I-I'm sorry Lord Hibiki." The girl, Sung Ya, bowed quickly to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't see your tail under the snow." She blathered a few other apologies as he relaxed and with a thought, he shifted back to being human. Fur and fang giving way to flesh and silks.

"You stepped on my tail." He said with a frown as he suppressed the urge to snap something worse at her. It had been a mistake but his new instincts were calling for something harsher than a few words.

"Don't be getting too mad at my new helper Ryouga," Ranma said, with that infuriating teasing lilt to her voice as she walked over. "You're the one who decided to try and become a snow wolf." He turned to snap at her and his words tumbled away into the wind as her eyes found his. She looked up at him, smirking that normally infuriating self-satisfied grin.

He swallowed and huffed, stepping aside. "Still should have watched where she was going." He said, trying and failing to salvage the situation.

Ranma snickered as she stepped passed her. "So, Sung Ya, the news?" She asked authoritatively.

Her new handmaiden bowed. "A message from General Kumon. They are ready to begin the inspection whenever you are ready." She said formally.

Ranma sighed. "Already?" She pouted and Ryouga looked away. "Fine, didn't even get an hour in." She sighed.

"An hour, milady?" Sung Ya asked.

Ranma shrugged. "First time I get to chance to practice in three days and its not even an hour long? I'm going to get rusty at this rate." She complained.

Ryouga rolled his eyes and scoffed. She 'hmmed' and glanced at him."Something to say Ryouga?" She asked with a smirk.

He carefully avoided looking her in the eye. "You'll have plenty of time later when we aren't in such a rush." He said.

She laughed and elbowed him in the side. "In a rush? Says the guy who just sits around as a mutt doing nothing." She mocked.

He bristled and turned to face her fully. "Who're you calling a mutt?" He growled.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "How many puppy dogs do you see around here?" She taunted.

"I am a wolf." He growled, his canines lengthening as he did. They stopped as he met her eyes and he felt his heart jump a beat as she smirked arrogantly. The smirk became a frown as he just stood there for a moment.

Finally Ranma scoffed and walked passed him. "Well then wolfy, let's go." She said, grabbing his arm on the way passed.

She dragged him along as he shook off whatever that thing she did was. "Stop doing that!" He growled, "And why are you dragging me along?" Behind them, Sung Ya followed, an odd look on her face.

"Do you have anything better to do today?" She asked, ignoring his accusation. "Other than sitting around as a wolf and creeping on me I mean."

He flushed at the accusation. "Who do you take me for? Happosai?" He snapped. Just because he was trying to figure out what the hell was going on did not make him some bizarre pervert.

She stopped and looked up at him with a smirk before dragging him along again. "I'm not hearing a no."

He spluttered as she dragged him into the Palace.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The snow crunched loudly as Ranma stepped out of the palace several minutes later clad in a warm winter cloak of fur-lined blue silk. While the weather hadn't bothered her too much it was much nicer to be warm than chilly. She glanced behind her as she walked down the path to the front palace gate where the new Captain Kita waited. Ryouga was following, having finally capitulated after several minutes of rather awkward arguing.

Honestly, there was something odd about him today. He couldn't seem to stop staring at her, and he went red and just froze up whenever she looked at him. She frowned as he stumbled when their eyes made contact. There it was again. Well, it was clearly something about her that was bugging him, but what on earth was it?

She turned away with a sigh. "Idiot." She groaned. With everything else going on she did not need one of the few people she… sort of, trusted to be at less than their best. Hopefully dragging him with her would help. If nothing else maybe she could find something for him to do rather than layabout since Lily had, rather firmly, requested to continue her investigation without him.

"Your Grace." Captain Kita saluted, a clipboard under one arm. The five men in Legionnaire's dress beside her saluted as well, their fists slamming into their chests with a loud thwack of leather and metal.

"Captain," Ranma said as she paused, taking a moment to examine the men. While she wasn't a soldier she was a martial artist and she could see that the five men were not new to fighting. Each bore scars and held themselves and their weapons with the firmness of those who knew how to use them.

"May I introduce Corporal Adalwulfe Engle, formerly of the Imperial Legion, and the rest of his fang." The Captain said, "They will be your escort today."

"Because Ranma needs an escort." Ryouga drawled sardonically as he joined them. Ranma spared him a glance. He was dressed much like she was in a large blue fur-lined silk cloak, though where her's had white fur his was black.

"Less for her own needs, and more to keep others from being foolish." Kita replied curtly, "Sometimes what you need is more bodies rather than more power." Ryouga snorted.

Ranma nodded her agreement. "I'm sure the corporal and his men will do fine." She said looking up at the tall legionnaire. Blonde with pale European features, though what that translated to in Creation she hadn't a clue, the man was easily a foot taller than her, and so was most of his 'fang' except for a small almost dwarf-like man with a head that resembled a potato.

"We are honoured by your confidence in us Your Grace." The Corporal said. He and his men bowed to her. "We stand ready to fulfill any order you wish."

Ranma blinked, startled. That was a fairly firm declaration of loyalty. She glanced at Captain Kita. The older woman smiled. "I selected the Corporal and his men because of their enthusiasm." She said.

"Her Divinity Setarial has named you the Lady Castellan of Greyfalls." The corporal said, "It falls to us to obey." Oh, wonderful, they were _religious_ as well.

"And there is that as well." Kita said unrepentantly as Ranma gave her an annoyed stare out of the corner of her eyes. Suppressing a sigh Ranma instead smiled at them. It wouldn't do to antagonize them needlessly.

One of the men coughed into a hand and Ranma spared him a glance. He seemed flushed and she smiled further. Some awkward shuffling ensued with the rest of the men. "Well, I'm sure they'll do fine." She finally said to Kita, "Where is Ryu?" Her new 'General' was nowhere to be seen.

"Just through the gate." Kita replied.

"Well, I won't make him wait any more." She said as she stepped passed the older woman, "Enjoy the day Captain."

"I will try." The Captain said, "Corporal, keep her safe."

"Yes ma'am. Fang, fall in." The Corporal said. The five men fell in behind her and Ryouga as they exited the palace grounds into the controlled chaos of the armed encampment that the fortress had become overnight.

Thousands of new recruits were swarming the yards, yet even the thousands of troops seemed to only fill a fraction of the yard's capacity. Still, it was very busy with squares of hundreds of soldiers being taught how to hold their weapons by loudly shouting ex-legionnaires or being led on runs around the perimeter of the fortress grounds. Ranma attempted to make a count, but from her position, it was impossible to get an accurate read on the numbers without suddenly gaining another foot or two of height.

"Ranma." Ryu greeted as he spotted her. Beside him was Colonel Akiyama.

"Greetings Your Grace." Akiyama bowed formally. He was dressed like he had been the day before with the addition of a red sash running from his left shoulder to right hip.

"Good morning." Ranma greeted, "Zeriah's lesson went well?" That morning Zeriah had begun to teach short hour-long classes on the intricacies of being dragon-blooded. Things that were normally taught to Dynasts when young or just after they exalted.

The two dragonblooded nodded. "It was interesting," Ryu said looking at and flexing one hand. A small dusty sphere flickered into existence for a moment before breezing away on the wind as dust. "Some of it reminds me of the Yamasen-Ken. Anchoring yourself, feeling the wind, shaping your ki. Similar, but this is on a far more primal level. More instinctive and powerful in its own way."

Ranma nodded, trying to picture it. Perhaps it was like the Hiryu Shoten Ha. After a while she had developed a sense for how the winds flowed and shifted. Even now she could feel the flow of the light breezes that swirled through the courtyard, some of which seemed to be lingering remnants of her Hiryu Shoten Ha several nights before. Stange, they usually dissipated faster.

"Very different from my own abilities," Ranma said, gesturing for Ryu to take the lead. He started down a path towards between two large blocks of drilling recruits. "My ki moves before I do at times." She said. Her ki flowed with her movements and unlike before it suffused more than just her physical acts. During moments of stress, it would enhance her mind, clearing aside distractions and allowing her to see true. Doing so was so instinctive that unless she was as adept with Ki as she had become over the years she doubted she would have noticed at all. When her emotions burned hotter it tended to stoke them further. A feedback loop like those which sometimes occurred while using emotion channeling ki attacks.

"Not always a good thing," Ryu said and she had to agree silently. It hadn't gotten her into trouble yet, but a moment of poor self-control could be bad. "What about you Hibiki?" He asked.

Ranma looked back at Ryouga who shrugged. He seemed to be staring at one of the towers nearby. She glanced up. One of their few trained archers was walking the battlements. A young woman with dark hair. Hmmm…

"Not too much. My Ki isn't all that different." Ryouga shrugged, "Being a wolf is easier than being a pig."

Sure it was, Ranma frowned, and that had nothing to do with him literally snarling at Sung Ya earlier. As a human no less.

She pushed it out of her mind, there were much more pressing things to deal with than Ryouga being moody again. "So, how has progress gone since last night?" She asked as they stopped by a large group of recruits being taught how to grip their spears so that their thrusts were straight and precise. Ex-legionnaires walked down the ranks correcting recruits while a wounded legionnaire, his left leg heavily bandaged, sat on a crate in front shouting instructions and holding a spear up to demonstrate gripping the spear.

"We're looking at thirty-two hundred recruits since last night." Akiyama said as they watched the demonstration. "Recruiting numbers have slowed immensely, but we've overshot our expectation by quite a ways. Five thousand seven hundred thirty-three men total. We've ordered the least physically capable moved into the Staedtler's City Watch. About five hundred and fifty or so. They'll be more use helping keep order."

"Do we have room to take more?" Ranma asked as she watched a young woman amongst the recruits nearly stab another in the back as her grip slipped on the spear and the weapon slid out of her hands. One of the instructors moved to correct her.

"It's not room that is the issue." Ryu sighed, "We're running short of weapons. Sergeant Taylor is down in the Canal Gate district trying to coordinate the forging of more weapons from the local smiths, but making weapons isn't the same as making pans or horseshoes. The time estimates aren't looking very good."

"They can't just make spears?" Ryouga asked, his arms crossed as he focused on something deep into the crowd of trainees.

"Even spear making can be time-consuming for people who don't do it all the time," Ryu replied with a sigh. He sounded tired to Ranma. She turned to look at him and frowned as she realized he had first signs of bags beneath his eyes.

"How much sleep did you get last night?" She asked.

"None." He said, "I spent the entire night organizing the expeditionary groups." He gestured onward. "This way." He started walking again. This time he was headed towards the main gates.

Ranma 'hmmed' as she followed him. "How are the recruits coming?" She asked, putting aside his tiredness. She'd done worse herself over the last couple years.

"Only the first day, it'll be most of the week before I can say for certain. I've never run training before." Ryu admitted.

"Most of our work today is to get them organized into groups and drill the basics into them," Akiyama said as he cast a glance towards the group they just left. "This will be slow going even if some of them are taking instruction fairly well. I just hope we can finish before the army arrives."

"That's not happening." Ryouga said sighing, "Just look at them. Most of these guys can't figure out which end of the pointy stick to use on the enemy." Ranma had to agree there. Most of the people had clearly never held a weapon before.

"Maybe we should help out with the training?" Ranma suggested, looking to Ryouga, "Once we're done with the inspections?"

"Yeah. Lend a bit of our…" Ryouga trailed off as he met her eyes for a second and he shook himself, looking away again. She frowned. "Lend a bit of our expertise."

"Do you know formation fighting?" Ryu asked.

"We're fighting inside a city." Ranma said, "Personal skill is going to be more important to living than knowing how to stand in a line."

"A fair point Lady Castellan." Akiyama agreed, "And it would probably be the best use of your time now that things are settling in. At least outside of our morning and evening strategy meetings."

"I'll need to make a bit of time for my own practice as well." Ranma frowned, shooting a glance at Ryouga. Something odd was going on with him. Again. "I've only had an hour to practice since we got here."

"I'm sure you can find the time. You've offloaded the bulk of the organization problems to myself and Staedtler now." Ryu said with a sigh.

"Well, you should make time for sleeping." Ranma replied dryly, "The enemy won't be kind enough to let you take a nap before they attack." That drew a snort from both young men and a chuckle from Akiyama. "And you should probably find some time to practice yourself."

"I'm good," Ryu said, his posture going stiff. "Not that much I can practice these days anyway."

Ranma frowned. He had used quite a bit of both the Saotome School and another school outside of just the Yamasen-Ken. So why wouldn't he- Her eyes narrowed. "Ryu, how much of what you fought me with was the Yamasen-Ken."

"Excepting a few things from my family's school, everything," Ryu said, stopping to face her. "Everything I used was written in the scrolls your father gave mine. With very little context."

That last bit did not surprise Ranma at all. Her father was incompetent at everything that didn't directly involved punching something or hiding… or stealing for that matter. "You used a lot of Saotome School technique when we fought. Things I know aren't part of the Yamasen-ken." She said as she watched him closely. A surprised look crossed his face.

"Everything I used was on the scrolls your father gave mine. They were bundled together in a box labeled Yamasen-ken." He said, "I assumed they were all part of it."

"He must have simply added more to the box then." Ranma sighed. He father's incompetence struck again across worlds. Wonderful… She tilted her head as a thought occurred to her and she frowned at Ryu.

"Is something wrong Ranma?" Ryu asked.

"Just realizing I'm being an idiot." She sighed. Ryu was a terrifying combatant every bit her equal when he had been allowed to use his entire arsenal. Twice he had nearly killed her despite her not holding back. Twice. Only Ryouga had a better record and that was because of just how many times Ryouga had tried. "Ryu." She said, straightening her posture and adopting a stern look.

"Yes, Ran- Lady Castellan?" Ryu noticed the change in her posture and corrected himself.

"You are strong, skilled, and, as the last few days have proven, honourable." She said, "And right now we are in a very desperate position. We need everyone we have at their best and that includes you. As of now, I release you from your oath and declare the Yamasen-ken unsealed. Do not make me regret this." The Yamasen-ken was the most lethal martial art she knew of. Its lethality surpassed even that of anything that Amazon's had shown her. Really it was hard to believe her bumbling father had invented it, but then he was a master for a reason.

Ryu blinked, his jaw dropping open. "I-" He swallowed and shot a glance to Akiyama who merely smirked and bowed his head. "Lady Castellan, thank you." He bowed low, "I swear I shall not make you regret this."

"Good." She relaxed and sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them she smiled. "Now, we have a tour of the docks to get to."

"Yes, we do Ranma." Ryu said as he shook off the shock, "It is a bit of a walk though. I've arranged for a carriage to speed us down there."

Ranma shook her head. "I think I'd rather walk." She said. This was a perfect opportunity to see the city, preferably before it was burned down in a war. If she was going to lead them the least she could do was meet them in person.

"If you wish." Ryu conceded.

"I do wish," Ranma said before stepping passed her general. The honour guard followed her as she set the pace towards the main gate. Ryu and Akiyama shared a look as Ryouga reluctantly followed.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kodachi ran a hand along the chilly blade. Her fingers tingled with the cold and a thin layer of ice formed over them that instantly vanished as she lifted her hand. Her fingers didn't even feel damp from the experience. She was sitting in one of the sitting rooms of the palace, the only building that hadn't become absolutely freezing from the weather, but the blade was certainly dropping the temperature with every moment it was outside its sheath.

"A strange weapon." She mused as she turned it over in her hands for the dozenth time since Ranma had walked her through the meditative process of attuning her ki to the blade. She could feel it as a sort of cold and very personal 'otherness'. It was unlike anything she had experienced before. She had limited experience with ki before her arrival and feeling something both inside and outside of her was disquieting yet somehow comforting.

She sheathed the blade with a sigh. The room began to warm up again. She ran a hand along the hilt of the blade. "I wonder why Ranma gave you to me." She asked the sword as she caressed the hilt. The blade had been given as a symbol of the city's surrender and yet Ranma hadn't wanted to hang onto it despite the excellent workmanship and balance the long blade possessed.

A voice replied, "She trusts you to care for it of course." Kodachi looked to the doorways, startled by the presence of someone else. She found, smiling in the doorway, Hinagawa Miyu. The older woman walked into the room and took a seat across the small coffee table from her. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Ms. Kuno, however, you looked like you could use an ear." She said.

Kodachi smiled in spite of herself. "It's fine Mrs. Hinagawa. I'm sure you have better things to be doing than listening to me talk to an inanimate object." She paused, that came out wrong. "Umm…"

The older woman chuckled. "And don't you have better things to be doing than talking to inanimate objects?" She asked in return.

Kodachi sighed. "Not really? I'm the daughter of a wealthy family who has no notable skills aside from poisoning and treachery. What could I do to help?" She said and toyed with the blade in her lap.

Miyu hummed quietly before drawing a leaf of papers from the satchel she kept at her side. She held it out to Kodachi and the young woman took it. On one side was a list of pharmaceuticals that Kodachi could recognize easily. She had made most of the list herself at one point or another while learning. She flipped it over. The other side was a list of materials, their quantity, and what appeared to be pricing from different merchants.

She looked up at the older woman with a curious look. "This is a list of medicines. Mostly." She said giving the paper a second look, "Some of these though are… This is a paralytic, very easy to overdose someone with." Her finger tapped the poison on the list.

"You are aware of my position." Miyu said and Kodachi nodded.

"I never would have thought of you as a spy." She admitted. The older woman had seemed to just be an ordinary single mother.

The older woman giggled. "Agent. Not spy. And that was the entire point. Not that I have done much, hmmm, spying in recent years." She shrugged, "But one of the tasks I have been given is seeing if certain needs can be met with local materials. Dr. Zutter asked me to look into acquiring certain medicines and other materials. Acquiring anything like what we have at home is impossible. The locals best offerings are mixed. Mostly herbs and other older medicines. Some things have been concentrated into something resembling modern medicine, but most of those are opioids and are highly addictive."

Kodachi scowled. Her grip crumpled the paper in her hands. "I see." She glanced down at the list. Most of it was medicines. "You're hoping I can make these." She said, biting her lip.

"Can you?" Miyu asked.

The raven haired young woman ran a finger down the list thoughtfully. "I would need equipment for all of this." She said.

Miyu nodded. She had obviously been expecting that. "Chemistry, or at least something resembling it, is not unknown around here. I have located a complete laboratory within the central Nellens compound in Alder Plaza. While I'm sure it have nothing on what you're used to it should be sufficient."

It was something Kodachi could, probably, do. Maybe. She frowned and ran a finger down the list again. Pain killers, antibiotics, and other medicines were on the list. Some she could make in minutes or hours, others were the work of days or weeks to isolate the correct material and encourage it to grow. Penicillin was one of those. Simply isolating the material would be hard without the correct equipment. Assuming it existed here at all, and if it did growing it in the quantities she needed without contaminating the materials…

"And you need me to do this?" She asked. Surely there had to be someone else with this sort of knowledge, right?

"All of our trained medical personnel are busy dealing with the casualties of the Castellan's battle." Miyu said, "You are the only person I can find who has the experience, skill, and time to do this."

Something about that sounded a touch off. She stared at the paper again and silence stretched between them for several minutes. "I don't feel right making poisons anymore." She said finally.

"I will not ask you to then. The medicine however?" The spy asked.

Kodachi nodded. "I can do that." She looked up at Miyu who smiled thankfully. "I would like to see the laboratory soon. I can't say what I'll actually be able to provide without seeing what I have to work with."

Miyu glanced at her watch. "I have a few things to finish here first. A few people who I need to ask a few questions of. Once I'm done with that I can walk down with you. Should not be more than an hour at most." She said.

Kodachi nodded and smiled. It looked like she would be doing something more productive than just admiring her new sword after all.

"While I'm doing that, perhaps you should take the moment to get some practice with your new blade?" Miyu suggested as she stood, "The Lady Castellan was using the back courtyard earlier. It should still be empty right now."

The young woman shot a glance out the window at the falling snow. "It's a bit… cold out there." She said.

"Didn't seem to bother her grace."

Kodachi blushed and turned to the woman who was slowly walking out the door. "Ranma is special that way." She said lamely.

"So you say." Miyu giggled, waving goodbye over her shoulder as she walked out.

The Zenith sighed as the older woman disappeared around the corner before shooting a glance at her blade. It flickered eagerly against her Ki, a cool presence that called to her. She glanced outside at the snow then sighed and stood up with the blade. The blade was more her brother's area of obsession than her own, but she was like any proper scion of an old samurai family and could wield one ably… though it had been a while.

Resigned she followed Miyu out of the room, pocketing the list of medicines as she did, and headed in search of the rear entrance so she could practice with her new blade.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The little girl giggled as Ranma produced the blossom of a flower from her sleeves and slid it into the little girl's hair. Ranma and the mother spoke quietly for a moment before the redhead moved on, inevitably greeting some other man, woman, or child who caught her eyes as they slowly made their way down the streets of Greyfalls towards the docks.

Ryouga watched as she spoke with labourers, merchants, housewives and prospective new soldiers. Ranma had always had a somewhat awkward charisma. A natural talent to talk with people when he felt like it, though her reasons were as often to provoke a battle as it was to console. Actually, it was more often to provoke than console, but Ryouga had seen both over the years. Still, even at her most earnest, it had never been smooth. A result of growing up on the road leading to innocent insensitivity at even the best of times.

That awkwardness was gone now. She was hardly Nabiki, who was able to charm nearly anyone she laid eyes on, but she was moving from person to person with the sort of ease that most politicians would cut off their left arm for.

"This has become a lot slower than I intended," Ryu complained quietly next to him.

Ryouga chuckled. "You don't plan for Ranma. You plan around Ranma." He replied as his eyes tracked the redhead as she was in the middle of a half dozen worried women of mixed ages. Judging by the hand gestures and expressions she was trying, and succeeding, in reassuring them about whatever matter they had. It had been like this almost from the moment they had left the fortress. Ranma had made it a point from the moment they reached the base of the ramp to greet someone every few hundred feet.

Eventually people had simply started coming to talk to her themselves, especially after they had reached the city hall where Staedtler had been organizing the new interim council. It had taken nearly an hour to escape the city hall and Akiyama had excused himself to return to the fortress and check in with the officers.

The Scotsman, Colonel Roberts, had joined them at that point. "Ain't that the truth." The Scotsman said, "The way the girl is going she's making some politicians I know look like rookies."

Ryu grumbled and Ryouga just shook his head. Ranma was hard to keep a handle on when she had an idea in her head. Impossible was probably a better description actually.

She glanced his way as the women dispersed and for a moment he felt his breath catch as their eyes met. Then she looked away. "Come on." She waved at them as though they were the ones holding her up and started down the main road again. Her five guards formed up around her and helped clear a path towards the Canal Gate entrance.

He shook his head to clear it and followed her. What was that he was feeling? It felt… familiar…

-0-0-0-0-0-

Canal Gate was, essentially, a trading district. Merchant houses, tradesman workshops, and warehouse after warehouse made up the majority of the district. There were homes, but most of them were atop shops or buried in the backstreets behind storefronts and warehouses.

For Ranma walking down the main thoroughfare of the district; surrounded by her guards, handmaiden, advisors, and Ryouga; was eye-opening. Though perhaps not in the same way it would have been for others. Ranma had, years before, wandered the less known and forgotten backwater towns of China. While most towns possessed pavement and asphalt some places were far less fortunate. The closer they had gotten to Jusenkyo the worse the roads had become and the worse the conditions of the towns.

Greyfalls as a whole reminded Ranma of those towns that were somewhere in the middle. Not decrepit enough that their roads were dirt, but not so modern as to possess asphalt. As she walked down the uneven cobblestone road, under the swaying paper lanterns that hung from buildings, and passed the people moving goods with hand carts it was like she was back there. Back in China where no one spoke the same language. Back where people boiled their water for fear of disease.

She stopped by a shop. Judging by the shoes in the fuzzy windows it was a shoemaker's shop. Through the window, she could see a man, perhaps as old as her father, speaking with a young man who was perhaps her age. It was impossible to make out what they were saying, but the sharp gestures suggested it was nothing nice.

"Is something wrong?" Ryu asked.

She frowned and glanced at him before returning her gaze to the arguing man and boy. "It's like being on the road to Jusenkyo." She said.

"We're not exactly in China." Ryouga drawled.

Ranma snorted. "And how would you know?" She snarked. He grumbled. After a few moments, she sighed. "We're in a city that doesn't write in the same language we do." She gestured to the sign above them. The sign was decorated with a blue boot surrounded by writing in that same form the Realm used. "In the backwater of China you'd find places that hadn't seen a car ever. Places that didn't know clean drinking water, or which paved their roads like this." She kicked the ground with enough force to chip the cobblestone. She glanced at Ryouga and for once he didn't seem to freeze, being lost in his own thoughts. He did nod, however. Undoubtedly he had his own experiences with places like this.

"Um.." Ranma looked to her handmaiden as the girl cleared her throat. "Is Greyfalls so different from your home Lady Castellan?" She asked quite curious.

"You've seen the cars parked by the palace wall?" Ranma asked.

"Yes. I've seen them move as well." Sung Ya replied.

Ranma nodded. "Back where we come from those cars are commonplace. Nearly anyone who wanted one could afford one. Even if they didn't always have a place to put one." She said. The girl's eyes widened.

"For everyone?" She asked.

The redhead shrugged and smiled. "Yes, enough for everyone. Though finding a place for them could be a problem at times." She said.

Sung Ya looked a bit confused. "How could space be an issue?" She asked.

"Tokyo, the city we come from," Ryu began, getting her attention, "is massive. Millions live there and not everyone has a free spot to put a vehicle like those cars. It's not even the most impressive thing running around back home either."

"Really?"

Ranma smiled at her. "Yeah, there's even machines that can fly." She said, "Millions use them every day." The girl's eyes went wide and let out a soft "oh". Ranma looked around at the stone and timber buildings, the rickety signs and the masses of humanity that swirled around them, parting before the authority of her guards. "This place… It could be so much more." She mused aloud before shaking her head.

"Come on." She said, turning and heading down the street. "We still have places to be."

They walked, in contemplative silence, until they reached the docks themselves. The area was busy. Men, some half-naked despite the cold, ran about pushing carts and carrying logs that were being unloaded from barges that were plying back and forth across the river. On the far bank, she could see men dragging logs to the pier. Undoubtedly from the teams, they had arranged to send out the night before. They needed lumber and there was a convenient forest just a couple kilometres out of the city.

At the foot of the stairs leading into the largest warehouse along the waterfront, Guon Fan was directing workmen from a chair that had been set up with a desk. Papers, held down by a variety of bronze statuettes, littered the table. Several large, and empty, bottles of what was presumably alcohol were collected along one side of the desk. When the guild leader caught sight of Ranma she waved their group over.

"Welcome Castellan." She said, raising a cup of something golden before downing it in one fell swoop. "Aaah, this is a proper drink. Nothing like that fruity wine Setarial insists on serving at her parties." Something behind them caught her eyes as she then shouted, "Don't drop that box Xen! I can see you!" A muffled reply caused her to scoff. "Damned newbies."

"You seem rather busy," Ranma remarked as she watched another dozen men run up the steps of the warehouse carrying logs.

"That's because we are. 'Course I'm the manager here so I've got time to talk. A little anyway. You're late by the way." She pointed an ornate dragon-headed pipe that she had dug from somewhere on her person at Ranma. One of the bottles on the table was uncapped and from within a came an odd-looking stick with a small bulb on the end.

"I haven't seen a match like that in years." Colonel Roberts said before Ranma reply, "Chemical matches like that are fairly expensive I imagine."

Guon Fan smiled and twirled the wood and glass match between her fingers expertly. "Fairly. Only place that produces them is the Realm, though I don't think they'll be anywhere near as easy to get as they used to be." She sighed. "Rather convenient really."

Roberts snorted. "Dangerous more like." He said as he fished a small box of matches out of his pockets. "Here, let me."

Guon Fan watched with bemusement as the Colonel struck a match and lit her pipe. She pulled on it gently and breathed out. "Rather convenient those things." She remarked.

He shrugged. "We can probably figure out how to make more, assuming there aren't a half dozen people up there that already know how. They aren't that complicated." He said.

The guild leader pulled on it and smiled as she breathed out a plume of smoke. "Now, nice as this is," She brandished the long pipe at Ranma, "You are still late."

Ranma rolled her eyes. "We were sidetracked." She said.

"By her." Ryouga said, pointing at Ranma. Everyone else nodded along with him

The redhead rolled her eyes. Honestly, it needed to be done. She knew a lot more about the people who called the city home now. She shot an annoyed glare at Ryouga who looked away, a slight blush on his cheeks. Oh, now he was embarrassed. She sniffed and turned away, annoyed. "We were sidetracked." She repeated to a visibly amused Guon Fan.

"Sure you were." Guon Fan breathed out a breath of smoke and Ranma wrinkled her nose at the smell. How could anyone stand it? The guild leader slid a paper out of the mess of her desk and leaned forward. "Gather round and take a look." She said.

Everyone, except the guards, gathered close. On the table was a detailed map of the Canal Gate district with notations in Realm written on it. The older woman tapped on one of many circles spread across the district. "I've marked the best places for building trebuchets. More places have flat open ground around here than you'd think. And that lack of wall means we don't have to worry about anything more than getting the projectiles over the roofline, not the wall."

Ryu traced a line on the map. "That would be the main thoroughfare here?" He gestured to the cobbled road next to them.

"Mhmm."

Ranma examined the map and compared it to the area around them. That was definitely the main road. "Which means we won't be able to use the main road then." She said.

"Not a chance, unfortunately," Roberts said, "It's wide open and unless we want to start knocking down houses for materials there's no way I can see us filling in a gap this large. Not with the time we have."

"Then we don't," Ryu said. He turned to the warehouse and pointed to the door. "Machine gun nest in there. They won't be able to push through here without heavy loses."

Ranma nodded as she pictured it in her mind. The gun would force the enemy out of the open once they realized it was a kill zone. "Do we have enough ammunition for that?" She asked.

Ryu snorted. "We've got plenty for the machine guns. We were lucky there at least. We only have a couple so it's not like we're going to go through our stockpile too quickly. So long as we're sensible." He said.

"Just going to abandon the docks then?" Guon Fan asked. She sounded merely curious.

"Going to have to aren't we?" Roberts said as he looked about. Something must have caught his eye as he paused. "Gimme a second." He said before striding off to the south. They watched him go before turning back to the table.

"Right." Ryu frowned and leaned over the table. "If we put the wall out from either side of the warehouse we should be able to get enough materials to finish it before we're cut off from the forest."

"Wouldn't that give the enemy options other than running into the open ground?" Ryouga asked, pointing to the buildings to either side of the open docks.

"That's what the booby traps are for." Ryu said, "We don't have enough machine guns to cover everywhere so we make them choose. The gun, or a gauntlet of traps."

"Right," Ryouga frowned, rubbing his chin as he stared at the buildings around them.

Ranma tilted her head to the side. She recognized the signs of him actually thinking for once. "Something wrong?" She asked.

He stepped out onto the road and looked down it towards Nooji Plaza then back in the other direction. Several workmen swerved to avoid walking into him, nearly spilling their loads in the process. The lunar nodded and walked back. "Yeah. You're planning on building a wall from wood, and then planting traps that cause fires." He said.

Ryu closed his eyes and muttered a few curses. "We'll need a fire break as well then. Fuck. That means tearing down a few buildings." He said.

"The owners of those buildings won't be too happy." Guon Fan remarked blithely, "You want the buildings on the left side torn down? Straight line to the Canal itself?"

"That would probably be for the best." Ranma sighed, closing her eyes. The idea of tearing down part of the city was terrible, but if they simply could not hold the area then they had to make sacrifices to hold what they could.

"I'll have my men start mapping out the area for demolition… What do you want to be done with the people there?" Guon Fan asked.

"Ask Staedtler to get their names and inform them that they'll be compensated. Either with money or a new building once the siege is over." She looked to Ryu who nodded.

"I'll make sure it's done." He said. They lapsed into silence for a little while as they continued to study the map and compare it to the area around them. Then, striding from the crowd, Roberts returned. The Colonel had a large oil drum over one shoulder. In his other hand he was holding the collar of a tattered brown robe that a mousy looking man with greasy hair was wearing.

The Scotsman set the drum down roughly. "Sorry 'bout just running off. Caught sight of this little guy trying to wrestle it into a storehouse by himself." He said, sitting down on the drum as he pushed the little man in front of him.

Ranma turned to face the little man, though he was just a touch taller than her. He squirmed as she faced him. "You're name?" She asked.

He swallowed loudly and licked his stained lips. His teeth were shades of yellow and had bits of black visible inside them. "I is Veng Yuloon Your Gracefulness. A simple merchant, a collector of exotic items and miscellaneous trinkets. Far beneath your notice."

In other words a dealer in stolen goods and other people's property. She recognized the type. "Well, it seems you've managed to find something valuable." She said, giving the drum a look. Unfortunately, she had no idea what was in it since the label appeared to be in… that was either Italian or Spanish. Possibly both.

"Not the only thing he found. He's got a pile of stuff in the back there. Over a dozen drums just like this one, a pallet of boxes and I think I saw a TV in my short glimpse through the door." Roberts said.

"I found this." The man said in a whiny voice, whacking the drum with a hand. He hissed in pain and waved his hand in the air as it rang dully. "I found thems. They're mine." He insisted.

Ranma nodded, thinking. Ryu sighed. "You can't be taking him seriously." He said.

"He did the same job we should have been doing already." She said. "Did you find these near anyone not... Native to the city?" She asked.

"No." The man shook his head. "Found this one back behind ol' man Simple's shop. Not anything he'd ever use. No one round. Same with the ot'er things. No one round, just stuff lying in the alleys. Real fancy looking stuff some of it." He seemed to realize that she wasn't going to try and just take everything.

"Corporal Adalwulfe I need a runner." She said to her guard.

"Ma'am. Breitbarth, you're up." A broad-shouldered man with a beard that hung nearly down to his stomach.

"Your Grace." The man bowed.

She smiled at him. To her amusement, he blushed and bowed deeper to hide it. She ignored the low rumbling sound coming from Ryouga. "I need you to head up and have Staedtler send a man down to speak with mr… Veng was it?"

"Is I." The man said, "But uh, if you is going to send someone to buy me stuff. Just tell them I prefers silver. Realm money not goin' ta be no good no more."

"Make sure to mention it while you're there. Then come back and join us." She said.

"As you command." Breitbarth bowed.

"Go." She waved him off and the large man ran off up the street. She turned back to the small man. "Now, Mr. Veng. I expect you to return to your warehouse and stay there. And if I find anything you have has made its way to someone other than us." She glared and held up a hand. A small ki light flickered into existence. The small man paled dramatically. "Do you understand?"

"Y-yes your grace. I's understands perfectly your grace." He bowed and scraped and blubbered.

"Go, and this drum stays here." She said dismissing him. He scuttled away and disappeared into the crowd instantly.

"He runs fast," Roberts commented with a raised eyebrow. "And that last bit might have been a bit much your grace."

Ranma rolled her eyes. "I've dealt with those like him before. They're annoying and never do as their told unless you give them a good reason to." He reminded her of a more vermin-like Gosunkugi.

"Like having some unnamed supernatural horror hanging over their heads?" Guon Fan said. She chuckled. "He'll do as you've asked without too much issue. Staedtler's going to find him a headache though."

"Hmm... Anyway. Colonel." Ranma turned to the older man. "We've been taking stock and we're thinking we're going to need to remove a few buildings as a fire break."

The Colonel rubbed his chin and looked back the way he had come. "Yeah, you'll need it. The buildings are packed like sardines." He said after a moment. "If we want to use traps around this much flammable material we need to be ready for the scenario."

"Our opponent is going to be using enough fire against us without us adding to the damage." Ryu sighed.

"How is the Gunpowder going anyway?" Ranma asked. There hadn't been any news at that morning's meeting.

The Colonel chuckled and smiled. "Quite well. Better than well really. I've got good news, and exceptional news." He said.

"And that is?" Ranma asked.

"The good news it there is enough saltpetre, sulphur, and charcoal to get started immediately. I've even managed to locate some additives to give it a bit more kick." Roberts said. His mouth split into a wild grin. "The exceptional news is that we're not going to risk running out of saltpetre anytime this decade."

"And how do you figure that?" Ryu asked.

"Did you know that there is a mine in the City?" The Colonel asked.

Ryu raised an eyebrow incredulously. "A saltpetre mine?" He asked.

"Yep. Produces saltpetre and pottery clay. Apparently, there's quite a bit of very good clay just a few feet under the soil around here." Roberts said. "Rather rare to see saltpetre in proper mineral form, but I've taken a walk down this morning. They've got several tons of the stuff waiting to be shipped out. It was supposed to leave this week, but with the Realm stealing all the big ships."

"It's stuck here," Ranma said. That was good fortune for them. "Well, how much sulphur and charcoal do we have?"

"Tons and tons of charcoal. It's used for a lot. Sulphur… Not as much as I'd like, but more than enough for our needs at the moment." Roberts conceded, "Give me a week and I can have half our perimeter rigged to explode."

"Less than helpful inside the walls," Ranma said, getting a shrug from the Scotsman. "Focus on getting the flanks of this area rigged, but only once we've pulled back. I don't want people losing limbs because they walked into a trap meant for our enemies."

"Understood your grace." Roberts bowed.

"Well if we're done with the sideshow, perhaps we should begin the proper tour?" Guon Fan asked, standing up. "Figure out where you want walls and where you don't?"

Ranma nodded. "Sounds like as good a place to start as any." She agreed.

The shipwright nodded and turned to the warehouse. "Oi Benny!" She shouted.

"It's Bensworth girl!" An older gentleman stepped out of the warehouse. His robes were in good condition and looked fairly high quality. "What is it?"

"Take over here. I'm going to walk the Lady Castellan around the area. See where she wants the palisades to go." Guon Fan said as she stepped around the table.

"Fine, fine." Benny said, taking the steps down two at a time. "Lady Castellan," He paused upon reaching them and bowed to Ranma. "Bensworth Benjamin the second at your services milady."

His bow was quite formal. "A pleasure Mr. Bensworth." She said politely, successfully suppressing the twitch that came with being called 'milady'.

"I do apologize for Guon's… indiscretions." He said, rising. He ignored the annoyed muttering from Guon Fan. "She means well, most of the time."

Ranma snickered as the older woman muttered mutinously. "It's fine. She's been quite helpful so far." She said honestly.

Benny bowed to her again. "I do still apologize for anything she may say or do today."

"Enough old man." Guon Fan finally said, getting a slight bow of acknowledgement from him. She huffed. "Come on, let's look at the area along the main road first." With that the shipwright walked into the crowd of workmen, a path parting for her as she puffed her pipe like a train's smokestack. Ranma led the the rest of them after her, still snickering.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"So I'll get my boys to start measuring things up for construction." Guon Fan said as she marked the map in her hands one last time with a piece of charcoal. She turned back to them. "Right, that's the last of it for now. Unless anyone has any other objections?"

Ranma looked about the group. Colonel Roberts shook his head, as did Ryu. Ryouga couldn't seem to care less and Sung Ya hadn't said more than a word or two the entire time. And the guards may as well have been statues for all the noise they made most of the time.

"I think we're good." Ranma said. She certainly didn't have any objections with the plans they had made.

"Excellent. I'll coordinate with Staedtler and get some people down here to do the demolitions works on the westside within the day then. Sooner we're done with that the sooner I can put walls up." She said, bowing to Ranma. "I'll keep you updated Lady Castellan."

"Keep Ryu up to date as well." He was in charge of the army and, unlike Ranma, actually had military training.

"It would make things simpler while planning." Ryu agreed.

Guon Fan nodded. "I'll make sure you're included then." She said, "Now I need to get back to my boys and start organizing crews. Your Grace." She bowed again to Ranma before turning and walking back up the cobbled stone road towards the docks. A low humming floated back to them as she walked away with the plans under one arm and her pipe spinning lazily in the other.

"And now that we've got that dealt with. I need to get back up to the Heights and make sure Akiyama hasn't decided to reorganize the entire army while I've been gone." Ryu sighed, rolling his shoulders.

"I should head back up as well." Roberts agreed, "There was a chemist who offered to help after he was done attending this morning's classes. He should be there by now."

Ranma hummed. "Mhmm." She looked around at the street they were on. It was a narrow side street just off from the main road where the second floors of the buildings loomed out over the street, blocking most of the dull winter light. Was this an average street in the Canal Gate district? She didn't know. Greyfalls was a mystery to her.

"I think I'll stay out here for a while." She said. This was an opportunity to learn about the city.

Roberts nodded while Ryu frowned. "I'd say it could be dangerous, but then it is you we're talking about." He conceded after a few moments of thought.

Ranma laughed. "I'll be fine." She gestured to the guards. "You should be more worried about them than me." Really anything that could hurt her would just go straight through the guards.

"What is your plan milady?" Sung Ya asked.

"Exploring." Ranma replied, "I need to see the town. Are you familiar with this district?"

"Only the market." Sung Ya said, "I'm afraid my father thought that anything outside Alder Plaza or High Quarter was too dangerous for me most of the time. Though he has brought me to the market here before."

"I can act as a guide if you wish Your Grace." Corporal Adalwulfe said, "I grew up in the Canal district."

She smiled. "And that would be great. Thank you." She said.

"Well then it seems you have a plan then." Ryu said, "I'll be heading off then."

"As will I, Your Grace." The Colonel said, bowing to her.

"Stay safe," Ranma said, dismissing her General and the Colonel. She waved after them as they walked off before turning to Ryouga who was leaning against a nearby building. He was looking at something over her shoulder. "And you Ryouga? Sticking around or do I need to send someone to escort you back up?" She teased. It occurred to her that it was fairly amazing he hadn't gotten lost yet. It was almost a record.

He scowled. "I could find my way back up just fine. Haven't had problems so far." He said with a shrug. "But I'll stick around for now." Ranma rolled her eyes. He'd probably get lost the moment he wandered off and he knew it. She would be so very annoyed if he disappeared right before the battle.

"If I might ask, where might Your Gace wish to start?" The corporal asked.

Ranma considered. "You mentioned a market?" She asked Sung Ya.

Her handmaiden nodded. "Yes, milady." Sung Ya said, "The market plaza is the center of the district and the largest market in the city."

"Nearly anything in the district can be reached by going through the market, so it would be a good place to start." Corporal Adalwulfe said.

"Then we start there." Ranma decided. The soldier bowed and turned to the other three men. A single order was barked and the group moved out with the Corporal in the lead. As they walked they went deeper into the not-quite warren-like maze of streets that formed the Canal Gate district away from the central road. The streets grew narrower as the buildings grew closer together and the tips of their roofs came within feet of touching each other and within feet of blocking out the light entirely.

As it was they walked through a near twilight gloom that flickered with the occasional flake of falling snow that made it through the gap above. It was beautiful, in a somewhat depressing way. The streets were grimy with unidentifiable debris and a faintly foul stench seemed to grow stronger until they took a turn off the street they had been following onto a wider one where the homes were far enough apart that the sky could be seen as more than a faint sliver of light.

The area they had started in was primarily homes and taverns, identifiable by their decorated signs, and other places. Many Ranma was sure fit the description of 'less than reputable' to a T. That and the way that Sung Ya would blush red as they passed certain places which advertised their services on large boards painted in a bright scarlet red paint. Some included carved lurid images that made it clear what they offered even to the uneducated.

It reminded her of the shadier areas of Shanghai or Hong Kong. Though those places had tended to be far more discreet with their displays. The laws here were probably far looser than they were in China.

As they walked Ranma kept one eye on her surroundings, mentally creating a map of the area as they walked. Her other eye, however, was kept firmly on Ryouga. The bandana'd Lunar had been acting strange all day and, not that she had time to think about it, had been acting a bit odd ever since their arrival. Still, it had gotten quite a bit worse today. The freezing up, odd twitching, and the way he seemed to refuse to meet her eyes was getting really quite annoying… and a might bit concerning if she was being entirely honest with herself.

As they walked she caught sight of him watching her, his eyes tracking her while he had this odd expression on his face that she couldn't quite place. It was almost like what she had seen when he looked at Akane. Almost, but not quite. It was strange. When he inevitably spotted her covertly watching him he would do one of two things. He would stumble on nothing and then look away, or he would simply look away immediately without locking eyes.

She doubted he really considered the buildings around them that interesting, though she felt a slight bit of amusement at the blush that would form every time he caught sight of the brothels they would occasionally pass. His reactions to such things were amusing to her and always had been, there was a reason she loved taking the opportunity to tease him.

"Here we are." Corporal Adalwulfe said as the street they were on spilled out into a very large plaza. Wide boulevards ringed a large open area where several large canvas pavilions in bright colours were set up. One of the corners had a tall three-story permanent store with a red tiled roof set up. A short cobbled path, bordered on either side with shrubbery, led from the main roads to the front door of the building.

Unlike the side streets, where they had passed maybe three people, the market plaza was, while not quite bustling, busy with dozens of people at a glance.

"It's quiet today." Sung Ya observed.

"It would be. With everything going on right now I'm surprised anyone is even open right now." The corporal observed.

Ranma hummed thoughtfully as she observed the crowd of people. Many looked, if not poor, not particularly wealthy. The sort of people would could be said to be not-quite in a middle class. Others had the look of the more well to do with bright silks and cloaks of well cared for furs. Carts, some pulled by hand others by horses, were being loaded or unloaded near the edge of the large pavilions.

"Looks like something is going on though." Ryouga said, pointing to the entrance to the furthest pavillion. Ranma followed his hand and spotted the issue immediately. Men, dressed in black cloth armour and wearing silver edged bowler hats were blocking access to the pavillion.

"Let's go find out." Ranma said, "Corporal, a path."

"Yes ma'am. Clear a path men." The Corporal ordered, leading the way down the gravel path to the small crowd that had formed. As they approached the Corporal started shouting, "Move aside, move aside! Make way for the Lady Castellan." Some people moved immediately, others required some judicious prodding with the blunt ends of spears and shields before they would move.

Ranma rolled her eyes, but said nothing. It was annoying, but she had developed something of a blase attitude to being called 'Lady Castellan' and the dozen or so other respectful titles people seemed to insist on calling her. Of course she also had the urge to strangle the Corporal for shouting out her title like it was a magic word that would solve the current issue. It did, however, appear to be working to a degree. As people pulled back many of them spotted her and murmuring spread through the crowd as some of them turned their attention to her rather than the guards at the door.

When they pushed through the crowd the Corporal stood aside to let her through. "Her Grace, Lady Castellan Saotome Ranma." He proclaimed.

She suppressed the urge to twitch. Perhaps she hadn't quite developed an immunity to that title yet. "Thank you, Corporal." She said with a smile, not a trace in her voice of the sarcasm she was so dying to unleash.

The two men at the door exchanged looks. The older looking one cleared his throat. "The ah- um, Lady Castellan was it?" He asked.

"Are you deaf?" Corporal Adalwulfe demanded. He stilled as Ranma placed a hand on his arm. She didn't need the soldier to start a fight with his belligerence.

"I am the Castellan." Ranma said, examining the two men. One looked like he couldn't have been older than she was, while the one who had spoken looked like he was probably as old as her father. Both carried wooden clubs at their hips along with several lengths of rope.

"Yes well, I'm sorry to say I've never seen the Castellan before." The older man said nervously, "I- um, Apologies milady, if you are the Castellan, I have my orders. No one is to interrupt Lord Adams while he deals with the situation inside."

Adams? She cocked her head to one side. Did he mean Adams Benjamin? The FBI agent? "Adams Benjamin?" She asked.

The man nodded. "Yes ma'am. He's been appointed by the Duke to head the City Watch. Showing us how to do things he is."

"Then you won't mind sending someone to get him, will you?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"I- no ma'am. Boy, go inform Lord Adams that the Lady Castellan is outside." He said to the young man next to him.

"Right away." The boy ran into the pavillion, the cloth door falling shut behind him. Ranma could hear the his feet as they pounded on the tiled floor within. Despite the temporary design of their exterior it appeared to be far more permanent than she had first thought.

"What's going on here?" Ryouga asked, his eyes on the crowd who seemed to have cooled a bit with their arrival. Anger replaced by curiosity.

"Just some people having issues with some of the Duke's directives to prepare for the siege." The man said before clamming up. Ranma let him stay quiet as they waited. There was no need to press the man since Adams would be there soon.

A few minutes passed before she heard the sound of footsteps from within. The young black FBI agent she remembered from earlier brushed aside the cloth door as he stepped out. Following at his heels came the other guard. "Ah, Lady Castellan." The FBI agent bowed. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I'm just here on a little side trip. I felt it best to get familiar with the Canal District before the siege." She said.

"It's certainly got a few twists and turns to it." Adams agreed, "And I guess the commotion caught your attention."

"It did."

The black man nodded. "Right, come on in then." He said lifting aside the cloth flap as he went back in. Ranma ducked inside. The rest followed quickly.

The inside of the pavilion was much warmer than the outside with braziers burning every few meters. The pavilion was roughly circular with stalls laid out around the outer edge and in clustered moving further inside. Each stall, whether a small one with room for a single standing man or a large one with a half dozen heavy oak tables, was clearly marked out with red poles at their edges between which hung a kaleidoscope of colourful fabrics. More of the guards could be seen walking patrolling the empty and abandoned stands in pairs.

"I was sent down here by the Duke," Adams said. He sighed. "It's been annoying, to say the least."

"What did he ask you to do?" Ranma asked.

"He sent some of the new city watch down here to secure non-perishable foods from some of the merchants and to see about recruiting some of the blacksmiths who sell their wares here. Offered the merchants market value for their goods. Market value before this entire mess mind you. That's what some of them took issue with. Didn't think it was worth it." He paused as they turned a corner to on a hallway that led towards the center of the pavilion. "Then they found out someone was hoarding things from our world."

"We came across someone doing that earlier." Ranma said, "We managed to persuade him to sell them to us. At a fair price." Or she'd be having words with the ratman.

"Well, the one here refuses to accept the finders fee that Staedtler offered. He said he could get ten times that price anywhere in the hundred kingdoms with ease. It's become an armed standoff. I had some of my men clear the building out." He said.

"How bad is it?" Ranma asked, frowning. An armed standoff with merchants was not a good thing. "And what is he refusing to turn over? If this is over a box of erasers or something like that."

"We don't have a good count on everything he has, but we've spotted a few important things. Including a pair of US Army portable generators." The Agent replied.

Generators were something they needed. Of course, they probably ran on gasoline or diesel or something like that. She frowned. Still, if they had them they might be able to retrofit them for power from some other source. Maybe. "Too important to let fall through our hands." She agreed.

"I've been trying to talk them down. No success so far." Adams said, "They seem to have the opinion that I am 'too low of station' to be worth negotiating with on something like this. God knows where they get their arrogance."

"Maybe they'll think a Castellan is worth listening to." Ranma said, "Where are they?"

"Round here." The turned a final corner at the end of the hall to find a single stall about the size of a moderately prosperous shop. Over a dozen men stood around it, shields and clubs in hand, all of them wearing the cloth uniform and bowler hats of the watch. The tables of the stall had been moved aside along with the boxes behind them to reveal a large trapdoor in the floor. "The largest stalls have basements." The FBI agent added. The door was at present shut except for a thin sliver where it met the right-hand side.

"So I see." That made this irritating. "Well let's get on with this then."

Adams nodded to one of the older men. "Give it a knock." He ordered. The man nodded and carefully walked up to the door and carefully, though not gently, rapped it twice with his club.

There was silence for a moment. Then a deep voice shouted through the door. "Bugger off you smarmy gits. This stuff is mine and I ain't handing it over to so minor functionary who thinks he's the biggest tit around."

Ranma snorted at the flat look of annoyance Adams sent the door. "If I wasn't trying to make our first big action not involve bloodshed." He muttered. "Bashing that bastard's face in would be so cathartic."

The redhead stepped forward, raising her own voice as she did so. "Would you negotiate with the Castellan then?" She asked loudly.

There was a long momentary pause. "Pull the other one. Ain't no way a tit like that moron went and got the Castellan herself. I'm no damned fool." He replied.

"Says the man locked in his own basement." She replied dryly. She could see the appeal to just ripping the door off its hinges and bludgeoning the man unconscious, but that would probably be a bad thing to do in the long run. She walked closer to the door, listening carefully to the sound of the man shifting around below. She had to wonder if there were stairs that led down, or if it was a ladder of some kind.

"An I wouldn't be in here if those self-appointed goons didn't threaten to take my prizes. They are not the Realm, I will not be threatened like this." HIs deep voice somehow got deeper as he shouted at her. As he went silent she could just faintly make out something in the background. She strained to identify it, her ears tingling with the effort.

"You were offered fair compensation." She pointed out.

"A pittance to the worth anything like this would bring elsewhere. I'm a merchant and I get to say what I sell my goods for. Not you." He replied, "Now iffen you are the 'Castellan'," She could hear the sneer as he said her title, "Maybe we can agree to a… more equitable arrangement."

She frowned, not at his words, but at the noises behind him. It sounded like breaking rock and… why could she hear it coming faintly from her right as well? She waved a hand to Adams and pointed in the direction before pointing at her ear. The Agent nodded and grabbed a couple of men before moving to investigate. She needed to keep him talking.

"And what might that be?" She asked, keeping an eye on Adams as he and his men started clearing boxes and tables away in the next stall over.

"Now, artifacts in this sort of condition are rare. 'Specially useful ones, and don't tell me these ain't useful. I recognized that look in your agent's eyes when he showed up. 'E knows that something in here is useful." The man chuckled, "Now even something small can go for entire talents of Jade in Nexus. Course I'd have to get it there, so let's not be greedy. Fifteen talents and the lot is yours."

She raised an eyebrow and waved Sung Ya over. "Fifteen Talents?" She asked quietly.

"Sixty-eight pounds of jade. It's a standard measurement used by the Realm." Her handmaiden replied. "Worth about five talents of Silver." Which would make it worth about three hundred and forty pounds of silver for each jade talent, and over five thousand pounds of silver for his offer.

Ranma shot a very annoyed glance at the trapdoor. As if she had needed any more reasons to believe him to be a greedy shortsighted fool. There was no way she would agree to such a price. He had to know that… She glanced over at Adams who nodded and mimed opening a door before pointing at the floor. She nodded. That clarified what the noise she was hearing was. Shifting rock? The moron was trying to hammer an exit into the neighbouring basement and escape while they were all focusing on this one.

"Fifteen talents is grand robbery and you know it." She replied, "No more than three."

The man scoffed. "I've been in this business for fifteen years. I know a prize when I see it, and these items will sell well elsewhere. I say fifteen."

She glared at the door. He was trying to stall for time. "Four." She said before stepping back, directing Sung Ya to get some distance in the meantime. Adams made his way over to her.

"There's cracks in the stonework down below." He said quietly, "You can hear them pounding on the wall."

She nodded. "Thought so. Get some men down there to greet them. I don't know about you, but I doubt he's honestly trying to make a deal." She said.

He nodded. "It wouldn't surprise me. What do you want to do?" He asked.

Ranma frowned. She could just try and make a deal, but given nature of the man she was dealing with and the outrageous sums he was demanding it was unlikely she could make one she would be happy with. "I think it's come down to taking what we want." She said with a frown.

The FBI agent frowned. "Doing something like this feels wrong." He said, "but we've run out of options if he won't negotiate."

"I'll lead the way in," Ranma said, unclipping her cloak and handing it to Sung Ya. Her handmaiden took it and back away behind the line of guards.

"Try not to break him too hard if you don't mind." Adams said. She just smiled.

"Fourteen and a half." The man shouted through the door. She raised an eyebrow. Only half a talent difference?

"Someone's greedy." She noted to Adams, who chuckled.

"Well why don't you show him something he can't buy his way out of?" He suggested.

"I will." She walked over to the trapdoor. She ran a finger along the side of it. There was plenty of room near the locks to get her fingers in. "That's still far too much for someone who's locked himself in a basement." She gripped the door. "Here's my last offer." She lifted the door, ripping the lock right off as she did so.

A large man, broad-shouldered with the look of someone who had just started to let himself go, stared back at her with wide panicked eyes before his hands went for the blade sheathed at his hip.

She moved before he could draw it even halfway out of its sheath. She slammed him into the wall, the blade snapping along with the fingers of his hand. He smacked his head against the wall and crumpled to the ground. She kept him from sliding down the stairs before stepping past him. As she descended into the surprisingly large room four men came running from behind boxes and crates. They drew blades and charged at her.

The first came in with his blade held high. She stepped inside his guard and sent him to the ground with a simple throw. He crashed against a large crate labeled in another language she couldn't recognize.

The second swung at her side and she caught the blade in her fingers before breaking the arm attached to it and flipping the man over her shoulder to land on the first one. Neither rose, though she could hear pained sobbing from the second.

The third came from the far side of her and she was forced to turn her back to the last man as he charged in. She caught the blade between both open hands and snapped it before slamming her elbow into his chest. The man was thrown back into another stack of crates. He groaned but managed to pull himself together enough to stand straight and drew a dagger from his hip. It was longer than what was left of his sword.

She didn't even bother giving him a chance to use it and simply punched him straight in the face. The man crumpled to the ground unconscious.

There was a whisper of wind at her back as the last man swung his blade at her. Her hand was already moving to intercept it when a larger than normal, slightly clawed, and partially furred hand grasped the blade of the weapon. The steel snapped, shattering into a hundred tiny pieces as Ryouga crushed it. His other hand caught the man swinging it in the stomach and slammed him across the room. The Lunar stood between her and the man breathing heavily for a moment before shaking himself. The fur along his arms faded away as did the claws.

"Ryouga?" She asked. He glanced at her with… there was a look in his eyes that she couldn't recognize at all. Then it was gone as he shook himself again and walked back up the stairs, nearly bumping into Adams on the way up.

That was strange. Really strange from him. Something was going on and she needed to get answers from him. And she was going to get answers from him. One way, or another.

"Nice work, though you couldn't have left someone conscious?" Adams asked as he came down the steps. He glanced at the crates. "I don't think this is Realm. Might as well be moon-speak for all anyone here is likely to be able to understand."

She shrugged. "I didn't even get a workout." She sighed, "Honestly, they're rather bad guards." She snickered at the look Adams gave her.

"We have different definitions of bad obviously." He said as he looked about. "There they are." He pointed to a pair of large plastic totes marked 'Property of the United States Army'. They walked over the the agent popped one on. The generator was just small enough to fit inside the large plastic box. "I'll look around and see what else is here." He said.

"Good. I'll leave the rest to you then Agent." Ranma said as she looked distractedly after Ryouga. More men were coming down the stairs now.

"I'll see a copy of my report makes it to you, Your Grace," Adams said before turning to his men and barking orders to clear a path for her. She smiled thanks and quickly rushed back up the stairs.

As she popped out into the pavilion once more she found Sung Ya waiting for her. "Your cloak milady." She held up the garment. Ranma waved her off.

"I'm fine without it for the moment." She said, scanning for Ryouga. Her old rival and friend had found a seat on a box and was leaning forward, his elbows balanced on his knees while his chin rested on his hands. He glanced up as at her before looking away again. "I could use something to drink right now," Ranma said.

Sung Ya perked up. "Alcoholic, or would hot chocolate be fine?" She asked.

"You can get hot chocolate around here?" Ranma asked. She had thought something like that was a more recent invention.

Her handmaiden nodded. "The three-story building you saw on your way is Khanzar. It's a shop specializing in chocolate-based delicacies and especially drinks." She bit her lip and sighed softly. "They're really good."

Hot Chocolate was a favourite of Ranma's, and after this mess something sweet would be perfect. "That sounds great. Just let me get Ryouga." She said. She stepped passed Sung Ya and walked over to Ryouga. She could hear Sung Ya following.

"Hey." She said when she reached Ryouga.

"Hey." He didn't look at her. She was tempted to say something about that, but this was neither the time nor place. He would be, like usual, obstinate and stupid and probably try and play it off like he normally did when there was a problem.

She ignored the small part of her that pointed out that that was exactly how she normally handled these sorts of things.

"Sung Ya knows a place around here that has hot chocolate. You going to mope, or are you coming?" She asked.

He was silent for a moment before sighing, more groaning really, and standing. "Yeah, sure." He said. He still didn't look at her. She frowned. What on earth was wrong with him?

She put it aside and turned back to the rest. "Corporal, we're leaving. Ya, lead the way."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ryu stood on the edge of the parapet overlooking the parade grounds. In the time he had been gone Akiyama had managed to sort out most of the pressing issues regarding supply. Those he hadn't solved were the sort that couldn't be solved by shouting at a few people and issuing a few orders. Even then he had finalized arrangements for a number of blacksmiths from High Quarter to work on weapons along with the young and talented Miss Winegate.

Still, none of that was at the top of his mind as he watched the thousands of men and women run through drill after drill under the spread thin instruction of dozens of legionnaires. Ranma was what was on his mind. Ranma and how she had just, out of the blue, granted him what was one of his greatest desires. Without him even having to ask.

"Why?" He muttered as he turned from the yard and started walking along the wall. He had tried to kill her with the exact skill set. He had nearly succeeded even, which was a lot more than most of Ranma's opponents could say. If it hadn't been for the interference of Ranma's father Genma he would have succeeded. Of everyone in existence, Ranma had the least reason to give the Yama-sen-ken back to him. And yet…

He turned to face the open sky over the city and took a deep breath before striking out as he had done thousands of times before. His hand cut the air, ki trailing behind in a crescent as it formed the monomolecularly sharp ethereal edge of the blade. A ripple of air, nearly invisible to the naked eye, cleaved out into the sky beyond. It continued on at least until Ryu lost sight of it some hundred meters on.

He sighed. That took more effort than he remembered, but it was better than the last four attempts he had made. Each one was closer to what he had been months ago when fighting Ranma.

"And I had barely scratched the surface back then." He sighed, "Now wasn't I just a damned fool."

"That would be your opinion, Sir." Ryu looked down the wall as Akiyama exited the nearby tower. "Getting some practice in?"

"I need it." He sighed, "After six months it felt like I could barely remember how it worked. The Yama-sen-ken required constant practice just to keep up back then. Just forming the blade requires months of training on top of an already years-long training regiment."

"I'll take your word for it." His second said, "I didn't get a chance to ask earlier, but did everything go well down below?"

"Went well enough. We're sorted and organized at least. Guon Fan is… interesting. Inexplicably charismatic and madder than Colonel Roberts. Though he seems to find her charming so who knows who's madder." He sighed.

"I see." Akiyama chuckled, "As you can see I've gotten this lot beaten into some shape. We're actually making progress now."

Ryu nodded. It was about time they had some good news. "Wonderful."

"Sirs." Ryu closed his eyes and sighed as a legionnaire came out of the same tower Akiyama had. His tone of voice was not encouraging.

"Fuck you too Murphy." He muttered before turning to the soldier. "What is it?"

The man saluted. "Message from Captain Tatsu. They've found Private Tanaka."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Khanzar was, as Sung Ya had said, the three-story building sitting in the south-west corner of the market plaza. Built in a very old style European fashion it was a very typical example of the favoured style of architecture in the district. When she asked Sung Ya why the buildings in Canal Gate were so different from High Quarter and Alder Plaza her handmaiden said, "They can't afford the costs of the building style used elsewhere in the city. At least that's what father told me."

Khanzar differed from the surrounding buildings by having a fairly substantial area to itself along with beautiful red tiled roofs. Gardens, at present covered in fresh snow, and shrubbery lined the cobbled path from the road to the entrance. A young woman was using a broom to sweep the light snowfall off the path as they approached. She was humming a cheery tune.

"Miss Marie!" Ya waved as the young woman looked up at them.

"Lady Sung." Marie stopped sweeping as she looked up at them with surprise. "Out here on a day like today, and without your father around?"

Sung Ya blushed. "I am here with the Lady Castellan, as her Handmaiden." She said.

Marie's eyes widened her gaze shifted from Sung Ya to Ranma. She swept into a hasty curtsy, somehow not dropping her broom as she did so. "Apologies Your Grace. I did not recognize you." She said.

"You aren't the first to say that today." Ranma sighed, "Its fine. I'm new." She shrugged. The girl rose from her curtsy with an unsure look.

"Is your father's shop open today Marie?" Sung Ya asked.

Marie nodded. "Khanzar is open today as usual." She said.

"Wonderful. We're hoping for some hot chocolate." Sung Ya said.

"Then don't let me hold you up. Please follow me in." She bowed again and then started heading back towards to the door. They followed, the snow crunching beneath their feet.

Marie took the steps up two at a time and opened the door. As she stepped inside she called, "Father! You won't believe who's here." She stepped aside and held the door open, bowing to Ranma as she entered.

The interior of Khanzar was... rustic. Booths lined the walls on either side of the door beneath large foggy glass windows. Several tables set for four were set in the middle of the room and at the back was the counter. On the counter were several covered trays with small labels next to them. A trio of coloured glass bobbles hung above the counter. There was a door leading further into the building behind the door and a staircase off to the left side leading upstairs.

"What are you shouting about Marie?" A man, presumably Marie's father, stepped into the room through the door behind the counter. He was a thin and tall man, though Ranma couldn't quite bring herself to call him gangly since he had a fair amount of muscle on his frame. He wore green embroidered tunic, equally embroidered brown silk pants, and a brown waistcoat that was equally fancy. His features were, like his daughter, angular while his black hair was swept back. Grey hair could be seen along his temples.

"Ah." He stopped at the counter as he noticed the guests in the doorway. "Lady Sung, welcome." His eyes wandered across the rest of the party. "And without your father I see. Well then." He stepped out from behind the counter. "Welcome to Khanzar, Chocolate Emporium. We create in many forms of chocolate delicacies, however, I can assure you our true specialty is drinks made from chocolate of which Greyfalls has no equal." He placed his left hand upon the center of his chest and bowed low. "I am Bonneville Walter, proprietor of Khanzar and ranking Guild representative within Greyfalls. I bid you welcome Lady Castellan."

Ranma blinked. "You recognize me?" She asked. That was a surprise. No one else had realized who she was before she had introduced herself… at first anyway. There had been a few up in High Quarter who had come to meet her after hearing of her presence.

"Word of your beauty is already making the rounds." He said as he rose from his bow. "I must say for once words do not do it justice. Your beauty incomparable anyone who has graced my shop's doors until now."

"Father." Marie scolded.

He ignored her. "Please, pick a seat either here in the main room or I can offer a private room away from the public eye up the stairs if you wish." He said.

Despite herself, Ranma felt her cheeks heating at the compliments. "A private room would be great." She said.

"This way your grace. Marie, the menus please." He ordered his daughter as he led the way up the stairs to the left. Ranma followed him up the stairs. Paintings of men and women in fine clothing hung from the walls of the stairwell. Beneath each was a short inscription that Ranma could not read.

Walter led them down the upstairs hallway and opened a door near the end. "Our best room." He said, bowing as he held the door open. Ranma nodded to him as she stepped inside.

The room had a single table by the window with four very impressively carved wooden chairs around it. More paintings hung from the walls. A picture of a battle scene with Dragon Blooded commanders glowing brightly hung above the rooms merrily crackling fireplace. A coat hanger stood next to the door.

"Is it normally this quiet here?" Ranma asked as she unclipped her cloak and hung it from the coat hanger.

"We are quieter just after Calibration as a rule, but we normally have at least a few guests." Walter said, "I can only assume that it is the current atmosphere that is dissuading people from patronizing my store."

Ryouga pulled out one of the chairs and fell into it. "Thought it was too quiet." He said.

Ranma nodded her agreement as she claimed the chair directly across from him in an effort to put herself in his line of sight. It only somewhat worked as he shifted his chair so he could see the door better.

Sung Ya hesitated as she hung up her cloak. "I-" She faltered and frowned.

"Sit." Ranma pointed to the chair next to her.

"Yes, milady." The other girl claimed the indicated chair quickly.

"My men have taken up security in the hallway." Corporal Adalwulfe said from the doorway, "I will be just outside. Call if you have need Your Grace." Ranma waved him off and he disappeared into the hallway.

Marie stepped inside her arms filled with several small leatherbound books. She placed one in front of each of them. "Our selection your grace." She said. Ranma looked down at the book and then glanced over to Sung Ya, who was trying not to giggle.

"Um.." Sung Ya giggled, "Neither of them has learned the written form of Realm."

Marie blinked and blushed, removing the two excess menus. "I see. My apologies."

"No way to know. Learning is just something we haven't had a chance to do yet." Ranma explained.

"It does explain your exotic accent, Your Grace," Walter said, "Marie will be your server today. If you have any questions please direct them to her. Do enjoy your time here, Your Grace."

"Thank you, Walter. I can call you Walter?" Ranma asked.

He bowed. "You may, Your Grace. Enjoy your stay." He excused himself and left the room.

Ranma watched him go before a grumble from Ryouga caused her to look at him. For once he was looking at her and their eyes met. He stiffened and the scowl he was already wearing deepened. She blinked, confused. What on earth was going on with him? "What?"

He huffed and turned to Sung Ya. "So what should we start with?" He asked.

Ranma stared at him as Sung Ya began to speak with Marie and Ryouga. She was flipping through leatherbound menu furiously as she asked questions. Ranma paid them no mind as she considered the strange behaviour of her friend and rival. Something had gotten into him and every moment this odd behaviour continued she was getting steadily more annoyed. It wasn't even consistent odd behaviour either. One moment he couldn't look at her at all, the next he was sneaking glances or scowling at her. It was infuriating.

A hand on her shoulder broke her out of her consideration of Ryouga's…. Whatever it was. "Milady?" Sung Ya asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just thinking was all." She said with a forced smile.

"We were asking what you would like to start with?" Marie said, "Perhaps just our standard Hot Chocolate while you consider more?"

"That sounds great." Ranma agreed. Marie made a few marks on a small pad of paper.

"Okay. I'll be back up with them." Marie said. She excused herself and left, leaving Ranma, Ryouga and Sung Ya alone.

Ranma sighed and tried to push whatever was going on with Ryouga to the side as she leaned back into her chair. For a wooden chair, it was surprisingly comfortable. She stretched and yawned. "Ever since we got here it's been nothing but talking." She complained.

"You're the one who keeps calling meetings," Ryouga replied.

Ranma rolled her eyes at him. He was once again looking away at the painting over the fireplace. "And you have a better idea for how to try and organize this mess?" She asked sharply. He shrugged and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and closing his eyes as he did so. She scowled at him.

"Um, milady." Sung Ya began nervously.

Ranma turned to her. "You can call me Ranma you know." She said.

The raven-haired girl shook her head. "I cannot milady. It would not be appropriate if someone heard me addressing you so." She said and Ranma just sighed.

Ranma considered making it an order but decided against it. It was likely she wouldn't even obey it out of propriety. "What would suggest from the menu?" She asked.

Sung Ya brightened and opened the leatherbound menu. Soon they were embroiled in a discussion about the many, many, many chocolate treats on the menu. Actually, as it turned out it was both the menu and the list of the many products that the shop was willing to either deliver or arrange for pick up in large quantities.

"Chocolate is grown in fairly large quantities by the guild in the south of the Scavenger Lands. Near where it becomes the southern jungles." Sung Ya explained, "Greyfalls has a lot more excess money than other kingdoms plus it acts as a gateway to the Realm. Acted anyway. Sheer volume made it cheaper here than most other places."

"That's not likely to last though." Ranma frowned. She loved her chocolate treats, maybe she could get some sent up to the Palace later?

"Not likely, no." Her handmaiden agreed.

Their discussion continued until Marie returned to a platter of three tall glasses filled with hot chocolate. "Here you go. Fresh hot chocolate, our specialty." She said as she set the glasses in from of them. "You may want to give them a moment to cool though. They came out a little warm." She apologized.

Ranma touched the glass and shrugged. It didn't feel that warm. Beside her, Sung Ya snatched her hand away from the glass the moment she touched it and was blowing on her hand frantically. Ranma lifted the glass up and took a long drink from it. It was warm like Marie had said, but it was also rich, creamy and sooooo chocolaty. She sighed happily before drinking more.

As she set the glass, now empty down, she blinked as she noticed the other three were staring at her. Ryouga's glass was hardly touched and Sung Ya's stood untouched. "What?" She asked. Ryouga, face flushed, coughed into a hand and looked away.

"You were making… noises milady." Sung Ya said politely.

Ranma flushed. "Oh." Whoops. She looked up at Marie. "Can I get six more?" She asked, "And after Sung Ya is done we've made a list of things I'd like sent up to the Palace." If she was going to be stuck with command of this mess she was going to get her sweets out of it.

"I'll bring them up, and Lady Sung can come down once she's done. I'll let my father know you have an interest in a bulk purchase." She said, making a few more notes before leaving again.

Ranma sat back in her chair and let out a disappointed groan. She really wanted another hot chocolate. She glanced up and met Ryouga's eyes as he was staring at her flushed again. Her eyebrow twitched. Had she embarrassed him with her display or something? He looked hurriedly away again.

Beside her Sung Ya carefully began to drink her own hot chocolate. A small moan crossed her lips before she went briefly red and went quiet once again as Ranma quirked an eyebrow at her. They were relatively quiet, other than a few small exchanges between the three of them, most of which left Ranma with a growing irritation with Ryouga.

Marie returned before it grew to the point where she strangled him. She set the platter of drinks down in front of Ranma. "Here you go, Your Grace. I hope you enjoy them as much as you did the first one."

Ranma plucked one from the plate and was already half finished before Marie finished speaking. She stopped before she finished and smiled at the young woman. "It's delicious." She said.

"I'm happy to hear that." Marie smiled.

Sung Ya finished her glass with a sigh. "It really is delicious Marie." She said earnestly before standing. "Let's go talk to your father Marie."

"This way Lady Sung." The two of them left, though Sung Ya nearly tripped over Ranma's chair leg on her way out.

Ranma drank the next several glasses of hot chocolate more slowly as an awkward silence enveloped the room. Ryouga had seemed to realize that he was now alone in a room with her. He tried to look nonchalant but failed to do more than look adorably nervous and confused.

She stifled a snort at the idea of Ryouga looking adorable anything. She glanced at the door to the room. It was shut and rather thick. She could try asking him what was going on now, but… He glanced at her then immediately went back to examining the painting over the fireplace.

Ranma scowled. "What's going on?" She asked bluntly. There was no point trying to dance around the subject with Ryouga.

"What's what?" He continued to look blankly at the painting.

"This." She waved vaguely at him, "You've been acting strange all day. Shifty looks, blank stares. You were watching me practice this morning for god sake."

He flushed but continued staring at the painting. "I've been thinking." He said after she stared at him for a long moment.

"About?"

He shrugged. "Nothing you need to know."

"Pull the other one, it has bells." She snarked at him, "You've been acting like a fool half the day."

He looked at her and scowled, then he met her eyes and it faltered. "Nothing you need to know." He repeated as he glanced away.

Her eyes narrowed. He'd faltered for a moment, maybe this needed a more personal touch? She stood up and he looked at her in surprise. Two strides took her around the table before he could react and she flopped into his lap with a smirk.

"I," She drew the word out, "think it is my business."

He scowled, but didn't push her to the ground like normal. He just looked down at her, his hands gripping the armrests. One hand was buried under her legs, the other rested against her back. "I'm not telling you." He said, "Get off."

"No." She shook her head and grabbed one of her hot chocolates and leaned into him as she drank it. "You've been giving me weird looks, glances, and then there's that thing that happened under the pavilion." She said as she finished her drink and set it aside.

"There's nothing to talk about. He was going for you I stopped him." Ryouga said firmly.

"Hmmm, you don't normally break six ribs when you stop someone." She said, sitting up and pressing herself against him in a way that empowered the already flaming blush that was across his face. She reached her left arm around his back and pulled herself closer while toying with his hair. "Something's wrong, you're all on edge. I can't have you flipping out now." They were practically nose to nose as they stared into each other's eyes.

Ryouga licked his lips and broke their staring contest. Her right hand came up and pulled it back. "Ryouga." She said warningly.

He gulped. "I'm not telling you I find-" He froze, closed his eyes and clammed up.

"You find what?" She demanded, her voice rising a bit. "Ryouga!" He shook his head.

Then the door swung gently open and in came Walter, Marie, and Sung Ya. Both Ranma and Ryouga froze, his eyes flying open as Ranma turned to stare at the returned people. It was, she reflected, a very compromising position to be caught in. She had practically welded herself to Ryouga in her attempt to draw answers from the stone that was Ryouga Hibiki.

Perhaps this had not been the best time or place to try and get those answers from him.

Walter, to his credit, stared only slightly before politely clearing his throat. "Your Grace, while I understand how emotions can flare up if I could trouble you to not carouse with your consort on my premises." It was amazing just how embarrassing a single sentence delivered in a perfectly calm tone could be.

"We weren't/I wasn't." Both of them babbled before looking at each other again. Ranma could feel the blush creeping under her collar as she got off Ryouga and scrambled back to her seat.

"He's not my consort." She said after a long, long few moments getting her blush under control.

To her horror, the proprietor merely nodded and said, "Of course, Your Grace. My discretion is absolute." He paused, "At least you aren't like the couple my daughter found one-day several years ago. She was quite mortified."

"Father!" Marie had gone scarlet herself and looked liable to beat her father over the head with the platter she held in her hands.

Walter merely smiled and chuckled. "Now, about your order." And like that, they were onto business. "I can meet your request in the short term, at least the next several months. Depending on circumstances passed that period I can promise nothing."

Ranma nodded, her blush very slowly receding. "That is more than good enough." She said politely.

"Excellent. I'll see to it that the order is shipped up come tomorrow morning." Walter said, "The first is on the house. I do hope you enjoy it, Your Grace."

Ranma blinked, then smiled. "Thank you, Walter. I will." She said.

The sound of pounding feet in the hallway drew their attention. Corporal Adalwulfe hurried into the room, another legionnaire at his feet. "My apologies for interrupting, Your Grace." He gulped, "Something has come up." He seemed rather worried.

"What?" Ranma asked.

"It's about a Private Tanaka."

That name was familiar, "The missing one?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yes milady. Message from the General. They've found him. He's dead, and you need to see his body. He said nothing more."

Ranma closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Now one of the JSDF men was dead. She picked up the last hot chocolate and drained it. "I'm sorry to dine and dash Walter." She said.

"On the house, in honour of your first visit Lady Castellan." The proprietor bowed.

She nodded her thanks. "Corporal, Sung Ya, we're heading up back." This was going to be unpleasant in the extreme.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Prison within the Garrison Height's dungeon was unpleasant, to say the least. Dark and dank with hygiene issue that were best left out of the bard's tales. His bed was at least off the ground, though wooden planks were far less comfortable than anything he normally slept on. In a way, straw would have been preferable, at least it was soft. Softish.

Bengtsson Gehard sighed as he sat on his bed. One hand rubbed the shadow of a beard that was starting to form. This was not how he had expected to end his play for the throne. Oh rotting in the cells of Garrison Heights had always been a possibility, but with the Realm removed he should have had a clear shot. Except…

He shot a glare out of his cell at the one across where his eldest son sat like a miserable oaf on the ground of his cell. His son, damn his son. Had the boy just done as he was told neither of them would be in this position. Oh, there was no chance he could have taken the throne. That much was clear now. However, he could have made a play like Sung's. Control over the entire south would have been a massive step up in his family's fortunes. Now who knew what fool would earn that coveted title.

He sighed. It was pointless to speculate, there was nothing he could do. Right now he was, to put it simply, utterly finished. There were no plans that could be made, no speeches that could be said, or actions that could be taken that would allow him to escape from this prison. Each cell had been hewn from the rock of the plateau and the walls between cells were several feet of solid stone. The cell bars were made from Jade-Steel alloys and intended to hold recalcitrant dragon-blooded as easily as a mortal like himself.

The sounds of footsteps caught his attention. Someone was coming down the hall. Was it their next meal? No, it couldn't be. Their last meal hadn't been that long ago… had it? Time was impossible to tell without natural light.

The footsteps got closer and one of the legionnaire guards walked into view escorting a very familiar man.

"You," Bengtsson growled. The man smirked in a way that caused his skin to crawl and his hair to stand on end. It was too wide and despite being wide enough to see his teeth all he could see was the blackest void he had ever witnessed within the man's mouth.

"Me." The voice was wrong, but the guard didn't seem to notice.

"Don't know why you want to talk to this guy. Waste of time if you ask me." The guard said.

"Don't worry about it." The man said as he leaned down to the guard and patted him on the back. "In fact, just forget I was here. Ever." Something black passed through the air and the guard's eyes turned into blank black orbs.

"Never here." He repeated.

"Go back to your post. Forget me." The man said.

"Back to post, forget. Back to post." The guard mumbled before turning and walking away with a slight stumble that was already vanishing as he disappeared from sight.

"Excellent." The man said before turning back to Bengtsson.

"Dad?" His son stood up and came to the bars.

The man, thing, creature glanced over at Bengtsson's son and said, "No one is here, ignore us."

His son blinked and nodded slowly before stumbling over to his bed and sitting down.

"What do you want?" Bengtsson asked as a pit of worry opened in his stomach.

The thing smiled. It was too wide and the void within too dark to be natural. "Young Bengtsson Gehard. My masters are interested in you, and they have an offer for you."

He licked his lips. What sort of masters did this thing serve? "And that offer?" He asked nervously.

"We offer freedom and power. Enough to challenge even the heavens." The thing said.

"Big words." Bengtsson said, "Who are your master's to make such a claim?"

"The ancient master's of the Gods, those who suffer as you now suffer." It said, "All they ask is that you aid them as they shall aid you now, and they will give you the ability to achieve anything you desire. Anything."

"Anything? Even that redhead on the throne?" He asked.

"Especially her." It held a hand through the bars. Black shadows wisped off of it in ethereal streamers. "Do you accept?"

He stared at it for a long while, considering, weighing his options. Its smile widened like it knew his thoughts. Finally, he reached out and clasped its hand in his.

"I accept."

Its smile widened beyond the human limit and seemed to split the entire head. "Wonderful, _Master_." The world was consumed in shadows while a mad laugh rang through his skull.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Well, this is the most thoroughly edited chapter thus far. Thank you to Gekko_Yoko for her aid!~


End file.
